A note from new UKCGC chair, Dr Arjun Dhillon

Dear colleagues,

I am immensely pleased about my appointment as the new chair of the UKCGC and would like to share a little bit about myself.

I am currently a practicing GP at the Argyle Health Group in West London and a clinical director at NHS Digital, and I am also the Caldicott Guardian for both of these organisations. I have been a Caldicott Guardian at local, regional, and national levels, and a UKCGC council member for a number of years.

I am incredibly passionate about all of my roles, and the experience I’ve gained from each has provided me with multi-faceted insight into the issues that we as Caldicott Guardians face when protecting the duty of confidence across different settings. I believe that this experience will serve me well when supporting you in my role as UKCGC chair.

If health and care is to meet the expectations and needs of patients, we must develop and use digital technologies and data. This must be done safely, legally, ethically, professionally and in a way that people can trust. The UKCGC is uniquely placed to support Caldicott Guardians with these challenges, and I am delighted to be working alongside you as part of that journey.

Before I sign off, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Dr Chris Bunch for his dedication and expertise during his time as chair, and for his continuing support and counsel as our new vice chair. Chris’s leadership has transformed the UKCGC, and resulted in better networking opportunities for Caldicott Guardians, and a wealth of quality resources to support them in their role.

I very much look forward to meeting many of you during the coming months.

Arjun