Scientific Advisor
Dr. Andrew Vallance-Owen, MBE
Dr. Andrew Vallance-Owen, MBE qualified at Birmingham University Medical School, later undertaking surgical training in Newcastle upon Tyne and Melbourne, Australia.
His career within the British Medical Association, BMA, started as Provincial Medical Secretary for the North of England followed by promotion to the post of BMA Scottish Secretary. Latterly he moved to London to become Head of Central Services and International Affairs, a role which also developed into Head of Policy Development.
He became Medical Director of Bupa Hospitals in 1994 and, in 1995, became Bupa’s Group Medical Director (Chief Medical Officer) where he furthered his interests in the quality of health care, clinical audit and the measurement of patient reported outcome; he continues to be invited to speak on the latter at international conferences. Reaching the age of 60, he retired from Bupa in March 2012.
Since leaving Bupa, Andrew has established a portfolio of non-executive roles in healthcare. He is Chief Medical Officer of Medicover AB (EU and India). He chairs the Private Healthcare Information Network, which analyses and publishes comparative data from the UK’s private hospitals and consultants and he is Senior Independent Director at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust (a specialist leading cardiac and respiratory hospital). He also chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of ‘iamYiam’, a consumer facing health and wellbeing company.
He started working with UK Trade and Investment in 2011 when he became Chairman of UKTI’s Healthcare Business Group. He left that role and became the Specialist Medical Advisor to Healthcare UK from when it was formed in 2013 to January 2016. He has spoken for them in a number of countries and covered various missions to Brazil, China, Columbia, India, Libya, Mexico and Saudi Arabia.
Andrew was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to healthcare in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2014 and awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University by the University of Birmingham in July 2012. He is married with three children (Anthony 33, Simon 31 and Nicola 29). He is also very involved in secondary education and loves sailing and jazz.