Chris Ham is Co-Chair of the NHS Assembly, emeritus professor of health policy and management at the University of Birmingham, visiting professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Senior Visiting Fellow at The King’s Fund where he was Chief Executive between 2010 and 2018. He is a member of the board of New Local, a member of the Bevan Commission and an adviser to Carnall Farrar.
Chris is the author of over 20 books and numerous articles on health policy and management. During his career, he has worked at the universities of Leeds, Bristol and Birmingham from where he was seconded to the Department of Health to work as the Director of the Strategy Unit between 2000 and 2004. He works at the interface between research and policy drawing on evidence to inform decision making.
Chris has advised the World Bank and the WHO as well as the governments of New Zealand and Sweden. He has served as an advisor in the UK to the Audit Commission, the House of Commons Health Committee and the National Audit Office. He has also been a board member of the Canadian Health Services Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
He is a founding fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a former vice-president of the Patients’ Association.
Chris was awarded a CBE for his services to the NHS in 2004 and a knighthood for services to health policy and management in 2018. He was made an honorary fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London in 2004 and an honorary fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners in 2008. He became a companion of the Institute of Healthcare Management in 2006.
