Jason Leitch


Jason Andrew Leitch is the National Clinical Director of the Scottish Government.

Early life

Leitch was born on 25 October 1968, the elder of two children, to Jim and Irene Leitch. His mother was an office manager and his father was a coal miner, electrical engineer, and college educator.

Education

Leitch attended Airdrie Academy from 1980 to 1986 and became school Dux. He played the part of Ralph Rackstraw in the school production of HMS Pinafore.
Leitch graduated in dentistry from the University of Glasgow in 1991. He became a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in 1996.
He has a doctorate from the University of Glasgow, a Masters in Public Health from Harvard University and is a fellow of The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
He was a 2005-06 Quality Improvement Fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, in Boston, sponsored by the Health Foundation, he is now a Senior Fellow at the IHI.

Career

Clinical

Leitch completed a number of training jobs in the West of Scotland prior to becoming a Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Oral Surgery at Glasgow Dental Hospital and School.

Scottish Government

Leitch has worked for the Scottish Government since 2007 when he joined as the National Clinical Lead for Safety and Improvement. This was followed by roles as the National Clinical Lead for Quality; the Clinical Director of the Quality Unit and he is now The National Clinical Director in the Health and Social Care Directorate.
He is a member of the Health and Social Care Management Board and one of the senior team responsible for implementation of the NHS Scotland Quality Strategy.
Leitch is also an Honorary Professor at the University of Dundee.

Responsibilities

Leitch is responsible for quality in the health and social care system, including patient safety and person-centred care, NHS planning, and implementing quality improvement methods across the government and the broader public sector. He is a member of the Transformational Change as well as the Performance Boards at the Scottish Government.

Scottish Patient Safety Programme

Leitch was part of the senior team who conceived, designed and led the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

Board positions

Leitch was the 2011 HFMA UK Clinician of the Year, and was made an Honorary Professor at the University of Dundee in 2013.
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 Birthday Honours for services to healthcare and charity.

Advisory roles

Leitch has been invited to speak at events around the world and has advised Governments in the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, The Republic of Ireland, Jordan, Canada, Brazil and South Africa.
He was appointed to the NHS England review group led by Don Berwick looking into the patient safety elements of the Francis Enquiry.

Selected bibliography

Presentations