Dr David Parkins is Chair of the London Eye Health Network (NHS England) and a registrant member of the General Optical Council (UK regulator for optical professions). David was President of the College of Optometrists (2014 – 2016) and Chair of the Clinical Council of Eye Health Commissioning (2015-17, Vice-Chair 2017-2021). As Chair of a Professional Executive Committee of a Primary Care Trust, and Assistant Director of Quality in a Clinical Commissioning Group, he has had extensive experience in commissioning, patient safety, and quality assurance.
His research interests include service improvement and redesign, and unwarranted variation in clinical decision making and its impact on outcomes.
Learning: Many patients move across commissioning and some provider boundaries for their care in London, which could result in fragmented services and less than positive patient experiences; hence why the Clinical Senate’s independent advice (from a whole system perspective) on proposed service changes is so essential.
David joined the Clinical Senate Council in May 2019.