Douglas has held several industry roles since 1990 and now works with a number of NHS organisations at local, regional and national levels. This gives him a unique perspective both across and through NHS organisations, allowing him to see how they relate to one another and identify any issues that prevent them from being as effective as they could be. Douglas uses this perspective to help both sides work more closely and effectively on projects that share common themes, aims and objectives. He gains much satisfaction from helping people to engage, learn and grow, by constantly challenging themselves in their current position.
Douglas became a board member of Healthwatch Reading in 2013 and this led on to a number of different healthcare assignments related to the NHS. A patient leader at both his local acute trust and the local mental health and community trust, he also co-chairs the patient experience operational group for Thames Valley and Milton Keynes. He is also a lay member of the Oxford Academic Health Science Network Clinical Innovation and Adoption oversight group, Thames Valley Clinical Senate and the Thames Valley Strategic Clinical Network.
Douglas chairs the NIHR Improving NHS Quality Using Internet Ratings and Experiences (INQUIRE) study reference group and is a lay representative on the James Lind Alliance/College of Emergency steering group – Developing Key Questions For Emergency Care Clinicians, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Severe Harm Project and the Physician Associate Management Board at the University of Reading.
- Leading Together Project: Minding the gap