CPOC Deputy Directors Appointed

The Centre for Perioperative Care (CPOC) is pleased to announce the appointment of our CPOC Deputy Directors to join the CPOC Board from 01 February 2026, Dr Jo Simpson and Professor Javed Sultan. 

The new deputies will succeed Professor Scarlett McNally and Professor Jugdeep Dhesi who finish their term at the end of January 2026. We extend our sincere thanks to Jugdeep and Scarlett for their exceptional leadership over the last six years, making CPOC the centre it is today.

Dr Jo Simpson is a Consultant in Anaesthesia at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust and NHSE Clinical Lead for Perioperative Care, East of England. She has supported local quality improvement work, led a clinical network to share and develop practice and delivered multidisciplinary perioperative care education days to the workforce.  

Jo has also spent six months working with the national NHSE Perioperative Care team, undertaking national service evaluation projects and has led the delivery of toolkits to support implementation of specific areas of perioperative care.  

Dr Jo Simpson said: "I am delighted to be taking on the role of Deputy Director at the Centre for Perioperative Care. As a clinical anaesthetist, I understand that more than ever, the NHS is under pressure to meet the needs of a population with increasing levels of comorbidity and frailty. We must therefore aim to deliver more individualised, patient-centred perioperative pathways to provide the best quality of care and utilise resource efficiently.

I believe that CPOC can support the delivery of this while retaining our patient-centred approach, by providing resources to help colleagues with local implementation, by facilitating best use of digital systems and by educating our workforce. Perioperative care is multidisciplinary and it is essential that CPOC works with all relevant stakeholders to ensure a coordinated approach."

Professor Javed Sultan is a Consultant Oesophago-Gastric Surgeon, past OG lead for AUGIS and Greater Manchester clinical lead for OG cancer. He is also the National Clinical Lead for Upper GI Cancer at NHS England. 

Javed developed a passion for prehabilitation and enhanced recovery, following five years at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, an internationally recognised unit. He then moved to the Salford Royal Hospital with a large centralised OG service covering 3.2 million. Subsequently he became Unit Clinical Lead, GM Cancer Lead for OG cancer and completed a three-year term as OG Lead for the Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons (AUGIS). 

Javed is currently leading a research programme with Manchester Metropolitan University and Southampton investigating the mechanistic effects of resistance and hypoxic altitude training on sarcopenia, muscle function, mitochondria and the tumour microenvironment in OG cancer.  

Professor Javed Sultan said:  "I am delighted to take on the role of Deputy Director at the Centre for Perioperative Care. This is a great opportunity to deliver improvements in perioperative care at a national level and ultimately improve surgical outcomes."