Mike Shanahan, the former Head of Resilience and Special Operations at Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, has been seconded to the post of Deputy Strategic Ambulance Advisor at the Department of Health, working as part of the National Ambulance Resilience Unit delivery team.
Mike’s manager, Russ Mansford, the current Strategic Ambulance Advisor at the Department of Health, will move to a part-time role at the end of March 2012 when he formally retires from London Ambulance Service after 40 years, to continue his career as a consultant in civil protection and emergency preparedness.
“Mike is a safe pair of hands who knows the ambulance service inside out and who thinks in a very strategic way,” says Russ Mansford.
“There was some very stiff competition for this role and it is to Mike’s credit that he was able to come through the interview process and show the panel how his 26 years in the ambulance service – from PTS through to paramedic and finally Assistant Director – have provided the ideal grounding he will need to succeed in this demanding job,” says Russ.
Speaking of his appointment, Mr Shanahan, 49, was keen to emphasise that he has already hit the ground running, and is planning to meet as many people as possible in the coming months while he gets to grips with his new role.
Says Mike: “I am very pleased to have been given this opportunity and look forward to shadowing Russ in the coming weeks and months. My priorities are to meet the whole NARU team and to gain an understanding of each of the work streams NARU is involved in, and then I would like to get out and meet each of the EP leads in all Ambulance Trusts, with a view to determining the level of ambulance resilience nationally.
“With the NHS in transition, the Olympics around the corner and a number of immediate priorities on the table such as NARU’s ongoing working relationships with the Department of Health, NHS Operations and West Midlands Ambulance Trust, this is an exciting time to join and I am looking forward to the challenge.”