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Professor Gary Ford CBE

Professor Gary A Ford CBE
OAHP Board Member
Chief Executive Officer, Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley

Professor Gary Ford was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (previously known as Oxford Academic Health Science Network) in 2013 and led it through relicensing in 2018.

Gary has led the adoption of innovation in stroke care for many years. He remains a practising clinician as a consultant stroke physician at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He is also Professor of Stroke Medicine at the University of Oxford.  Gary was Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) stroke research network from 2005-2013 and is a member of the NIHR strategy board.

He developed the first thrombolysis protocol for acute stroke in England and the Face Arm Speech Test (FAST) now used to increase public and professional awareness of stroke and was awarded the CBE in 2013 for services to research in stroke medicine. In 2018 Gary was identified as one of seven research legends whose work on stroke care and management has transformed care in the NHS.

Gary is also a Governing Body Fellow of Green Templeton College, Oxford. He has chaired the Executive Board of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.

At the end of 2023, Gary completed his second term as Chair of the national Health Innovation/AHSN Network