“A great privilege” is the understated reaction of the chair of a local health group on receiving a prestigious honour from a globally renowned university.
Professor Derek Bell OBE, chair of University Hospitals Tees, was recognised with an Honorary Doctor of Science by Teesside University for his regional and national contributions to healthcare.
During his acceptance speech, Professor Bell added his voice to calls for a new medical school to complement the university’s already impressive campus.
Privilege
Professor Bell said: “It’s a great privilege to be honoured in this way. The University’s buildings and facilities for students are just exceptional, and I can see how that attracts students from all over the world.
“Teesside University’s reputation continues to go up and up. The opportunities are fantastic, along with the opportunity to take the different skills that people have learned at the University out into the wider world.”
Medical school
Derek is a fierce advocate for the university’s ambition to build a dedicated medical school to train generations of future doctors.
Recognising the benefits of such a development go beyond health to create a benefit for local financial and social systems, Derek commented: “Hopefully Teesside University will get a new medical school, which I think will be a great boost to the local economy.”
Derek, who was awarded an OBE in 2018 for services to Unscheduled Care and Quality Improvement, says one of the achievements he is most proud of was his involvement in the National Early Warning System.
He said: “We created the standardised measure of key parameters to assess patients on admission to hospital, which is now used across the UK and in other parts of the world.
“The NHS is always changing, always learning, always improving. I hope that as I look back on my career it’s an ethos I have reflected and have encouraged others to take to heart.”
Derek was joined by fellow honorary award winners Lee Hutchinson, the founder Double Eleven, and Dean Benson, chief executive of Visualsoft, who were recognised for their work in gaming and technology, at a gala evening at Teesside University.
A passion for hockey
Outside of his professional life, Derek indulges his life-long passion for hockey.
A member of both a team in Edinburgh and the Scottish Master’s Hockey team, Derek has also represented Scottish schools, Scottish under 21s and Scottish and British university teams in domestic and European competitions.
His hockey accolades include winning a European university tournament in 1978, the Scottish league with a club in Edinburgh and winning the Celtic Cup against stiff competition from Ireland and Wales, and taking home a bronze medal in the Australia-hosted world masters cup.