Michael Harmer

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

is the former deputy chief medical officer for Wales, former chair of the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee, and incumbent chair of the National Clinical Forum for NHS Wales.

Education

Harmer was educated at

St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College , mottoeng = Temper the bitter things in life with a smile , parent = Queen Mary University of London , president = Lord Mayor of London , head_label = Warden , head = Mark Caulfield , students = 3,410 , undergrad = 2,23 ...

, London.

Career

Harmer became an anaesthetist at the

University Hospital of Wales University Hospital of Wales ( cy, Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru) (UHW), also known as the Heath Hospital, is a major 1,000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Constr ...

in 1982. He became head of the department of anaesthetics at the

University of Wales College of Medicine The Cardiff University School of Medicine ( cy, Ysgol Feddygaeth Prifysgol Caerdydd) is the medical school of Cardiff University and is located in Cardiff, Wales, UK. Founded in 1893 as part of the University College of South Wales and Monmou ...

In 2005, Harmer listed his other appointments as a regional assessor into the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths, and vice-chairman, pain subcommittee, World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiology. Harmer became in 2007 one of two deputy chief medical officers in the Welsh Department of Health, in post until 2008, then transferring to become medical director of NHS Wales, resigning shortly afterward. Harmer was appointed a

in 2013 for "services to healthcare".

Government scandal

Harmer was accused by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in Wales of "behaving inappropriately" in 2012, following a leak of a heavily modified report at the centre of a National Health Service reconfiguration scandal in Wales, that attracted

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

coverage. Harmer was called to give evidence to the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English language, English and () in Welsh language, Welsh, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes ...

' Health Committee, to which he admitted he had modified an independent report meant to be from clinical experts including doctors, paramedics, children's health professionals, dentists and therapists. The changes influenced part of substantial changes to NHS services to local communities, leading to street protests. Harmer rewrote substantial parts of the report, then re-submitted to the NHS, following emails exchanged with an NHS Chief Executive, Mary Burrows, Harmer deciding to use a private email account. The emails were never made public.

Personal life

In 2002, Harmer listed his personal interests as home and ground maintenance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harmer, Michael Living people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Year of birth missing (living people) Presidents of the Association of Anaesthetists