Together for Short Lives reveals that Dr Lisa Kauffmann MB BS, MSc, FRCPCH, Dip Pall Med, will become the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, when the incumbent Chair, Dr Hilary Cass OBE, stands down in March 2023.
Dr Lisa Kauffmann joins the charity as a highly experienced expert clinical specialist and leader in community paediatrics and children’s palliative care, working with children with life-limiting conditions and complex disability and their families over many years. Dr Kauffmann brings an authoritative and respected voice to Together for Short Lives. She will join the charity at an exciting time of growth and change and will play a key role in supporting the charity’s bold ambition to ensure all children and families have access to high quality, sustainable children’s palliative care when and where they need it. Dr Kauffmann will work closely with the Board of Trustees and CEO in deliver the charity’s bold 10-year strategy, set to launch in April 2023.
Welcoming Dr Kauffmann as the Chair Designate, Dr Hilary Cass OBE, Chair of the Board of Trustees said:
“I could not be more delighted that the Board has chosen Dr Lisa Kauffmann as incoming Chair of Together for Short Lives next spring. The world of children’s healthcare has brought Lisa and I together over many years – at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, through her role as Chair of BACCH, and through many joint pieces of work with children with life limiting conditions. I could not think of a better successor to take over my role. She combines the clinical background to ensure credibility across the field, with the leadership and governance skills to make a fantastic chair. I am really looking forward to working with her over the next six months to ensure a seamless transition.”
A lifetime of working in the NHS has been an amazing experience, and I have been so lucky in the jobs I have had. I now have a wonderful opportunity to dedicate my time and expertise to improving the quality of life and meeting the wishes of babies, children and young people who need palliative care and their families.
Dr Lisa Kauffmann
Dr Lisa Kauffmann added:
“I am very keen to put the skills and experience I have been privileged to gain throughout my career to good use in my clinical retirement. I cannot think of a better way of doing that than in supporting Together for Short Lives, an organisation without which I would not have been able to do my job looking after children and families. It is a pleasure and an honour to be able to contribute such an essential and important charity, helping it to continue to grow to ensure that palliative care is offered to every family who can benefit from it.”
Dr Kauffmann’s career spans over 25 years working as a consultant in community paediatrics, working with children with complex disabilities and their families. For the last ten years of her clinical career, Dr Kauffmann went on to specialise in children’s palliative care both in the community and in hospital. She has extensive leadership experience both in the NHS and outside. She was a Clinical Director, then Associate Medical Director, in the health service, providing leadership for her medical colleagues, and also to the wider healthcare team.
Dr Kauffmann has worked in partnership with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and was appointed Honorary Treasurer at the RCPCH. Lisa is a member of the Association of Paediatric Palliative Care Medicine, Co-chair of CoLab (a collaborative for children with medical complexity) and Trustee for Derian House Children’s Hospice in Manchester. Now retired from clinical work, Dr Kauffmann focussed her time on teaching communication skills for healthcare professionals supporting families caring for children with palliative care needs, complex health conditions and disabilities.
