Alasdair Donald MacDuff Liddell (15 January 1949 – 31 December 2012) was one of the architects of Britain's health strategy in the 1990s. As Director of Planning at the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

(1994–2000), he led the process of setting national priorities for the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

(NHS).

Education

Liddell was educated at

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational private boarding and day school in Craigleith, Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

(1967–70). He moved from the

voluntary sector In relation to public services, the voluntary sector is the realm of social activity undertaken by non-governmental, not for profit organizations. This sector is also called the third sector (in contrast to the public sector and the private sec ...

to health management and as chief of the East Anglian Regional Health Authority he pioneered the ''Rubber Windmill'', a simulation involving large numbers of clinicians, health managers, journalists and others over several days, which tested (and found wanting) the government's plans to introduce internal markets to the NHS. The ''Windmill'' was highly influential and led to changes in the government's approach. Liddell's simulation idea has since been used repeatedly to assess the impact of the market-based reforms, notably for the King's Fund in 2007.

Career

He resigned, reputedly over policy differences with ministers, and subsequently acted as an advisor to health charities like the

King's Fund The King's Fund is an independent think tank, which is involved with work relating to the health system in England. It organises conferences and other events. Since 1997, they have jointly funded a yearly award system with GlaxoSmithKline. Th ...

(where he was a Senior Associate) and to health sector companies and consultancies. He was senior counsel to

Bell Pottinger BPP Communications Ltd., which did business as Bell Pottinger Private, was a British multinational public relations, reputation management and marketing company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. On 12 September 2017 it went into admini ...

and was non-executive deputy chairman of Healthcare Locums plc, effectively taking executive responsibility in early 2011 when the company was found to have financial irregularities leading to the suspension of the company's chief executive Kate Bleasedale. He was promoted by

Ken Jarrold Kenneth Wesley Jarrold CBE (born 19 May 1948), is a British health service manager. Jarrold was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, and Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he gained a first-class degree in history. He was President of t ...

to Director of Planning. As Director of Planning at the Department of Health Liddell had Board level responsibility for strategy, NHS information and IT, NHS Communications, and a number of key policy areas. After the 1997 election he led the team supporting Ministers in laying the foundations for much of current government policy for the NHS. He was awarded a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the

1997 Birthday Honours The 1997 Birthday Honours were announced on 14 June 1997 for the United Kingdom and on 2 June 1997 for New Zealand.New Zealand list: Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Monarch's Official Birthday in the United K ...

for services to the NHS.Alasdair Liddell obituary
''The Times'', 11 January 2013. He died at age 63 of an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward :wikt:bulge, bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also b ...

he suffered while visiting friends in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Family

Liddell married

Jenny Abramsky Dame Jennifer Gita Abramsky (born 7 October 1946) is a British media producer, philanthropist and Chancellor of the University of East Anglia. She was chairman of the UK's National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF). Until her retirement from the B ...

in 1976. They had two children.

Works

* Co-authored the report ''Technology in the NHS: Transforming the patient's experience of care''. 23 October 2008. * Co-authored ''Windmill 2009: NHS response to the financial storm''. 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, Alasdair 1949 births Place of birth missing 2012 deaths People educated at Fettes College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Administrators in the National Health Service Commanders of the Order of the British Empire