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Widgets, Gadgets and Gore

Professor Matthew Cooke PhD FCEM FRCS(Ed)

Tuesday 18 March 2008

Professor Cooke is Professor of Emergency Medicine and leads the medical school’s clinical systems improvement group. He continues clinical practice as an emergency medicine consultant at Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust.

Matthew originally trained at Birmingham medical school before undertaking postgraduate training in Newcastle, London and Birmingham. He started his academic career at Birmingham medical School before moving to Warwick in 1999. He has also been a key national figure in the development of prehospital emergency care.

Until recently he was the Emergency Medicine Advisor at the Department of Health, where he was clinical lead for A&E reforms, including the reduction of waiting times in emergency departments. Research in this area led to his interests in clinical systems improvement, where the process, rather than the components, of delivering care is analysed to improve quality and safety, using many techniques from non health sectors.

Changing systems has become an obsession with Matthew - he can never stand in any queue without analysing the root causes and planning improved flow. He also loves gadgets and so also explores the possibilities of new technologies in improving healthcare. He also has had some other unusual aspects to his medical career, particularly in delivering emergency care to TV stars and politicians!

The character of an emergency physician (rapid decisions, quick actions) may seem to contrast to the thoughtful pensive life of an academic but Matthew will demonstrate some of the advantages of the combination.