Valerie Lattimer

PhD School of Medicine, University of Southampton  (1998)

MA Ed (Distinction) Adult & Post-Compulsory Education, University of Southampton (1992)

Diploma in Nursing, University of London (1989)

Val Lattimer joined UEA in 2010 and was Head of the School of Health Sciences and Professor of Health Services Research until November 2015. Before coming to UEA, Val was Director of Research and Deputy Head of School and Professor of Health Services Research at the University of Southampton School of Health Sciences. 

Her research has focussed on improving access to health care and health outcomes for patients, especially in urgent primary care. Her work in collaboration with colleagues at UEA and the universities of Southampton, Bristol, Exeter, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Warwick and York has been based in out-of-hours care, general practice, walk-in centres, emergency departments and ambulance services . The aim has been to explore the safety, effectiveness, cost effectiveness and acceptability of new ways of organising and delivering care, including new roles, skill mix and technologies such as computer aided nurse telephone triage in clinical decision making. Continuing interests include using health systems and mixed methods research to investigate how barriers to developing integrated care can be overcome.

From 2013-16 Val was a Non-Executive Director at James Paget University Hospitals Foundation Trust. She is an external REF assessor for other UK universities, an NIHR Chief Investigator and Mentor, a member of the European Forum for Primary Care and an editorial board member of the journal ‘Health Systems.’

Professor of Health Services Research and Dean of Health Sciences, UEA (February 2010 – November 2015)

Deputy Head of School and Director of Research, School of Health Sciences, University of Southampton (2008-2010)

Professor of Health Services Research and Head of Organisation and Delivery of Care Research Group

University of Southampton (2006-2010)

Reader in Nursing, University of Southampton (2002-2006)

MRC Post-doctoral Fellow in Health Services Research (1998-2002)

Lecturer in Nursing , University of Southampton (1997-1998)

NHS Executive/SouthWest Region Research Student (1994-1997)

Research Fellow, Wessex Institute for Health Research and Development (1993-1994)

Senior Tutor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Southampton (1991-1993)

As Professor of Health Services Research I lead a programme of funded research in the area of improving access to health care, with a particular focus in emergency and urgent care.

Current / recently completed research grants 

• National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme.  The work, workforce, technology and organisational implications of the introduction of a single point of access for urgent (non-emergency) care in England. £281,978(Turnbull, Pope, Lattimer, Halford, May).
• HTA The effectiveness and cost effectiveness of telephone triage of patients requesting same day consultations in general practice: a cluster RCT of nurse-led and GP-led management systems – The ESTEEM trial. £1,715,357 (Campbell, Salisbury, Lattimer et al)
• HTA Improving patient experience in primary care £1,998,350 (Roland, Campbell et al, Lattimer)
• National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme. The impact of variations in out of hours and end of life care on patient experience, staff and health systems £474,690 (Addington-Hall, Lattimer, Moore, Salisbury et al)
• National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme Workforce - Same technology, different settings: workforce management, planning and training implications £406,584 (Pope, Halford, Lattimer, Salisbury, May, Hall.) September 2008-August 2010
• National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme£249,443 The impact of changing workforce patterns and skill mix on patient experience, staff practice and health system performance  (Lattimer, Salisbury, Heaney, Meads, George, Moore, Baverstock). September 2005 to January 2009.
• Department of Health £254,378 How do nurses use new technologies to inform decision making? (Dowding, Lattimer, Webster, Summers, Thompson, Cullum, Lathlean, Crouch). November 2004 to October 2006. 

Recent publications

• Turnbull J, Pope C, Halford S, Pritchard J, Mays C, Lattimer V. (2013) The work, workforce, technology and organisational implications of the 111 single point of access telephone number for urgent (non-emergency) care. NIHR HS&DR Final Report.
• Campbell JL, Britten N, Green C, Holt TA, Lattimer V, Richards SH, Richards DA, Salisbury C, Taylor RS, Fletcher E. (2013) The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of telephone triage of patients requesting same day consultations in general practice: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial comparing nurse-led and GP-led management systems (ESTEEM). Trials. Jan 4;14:4. doi: 10.1186/1745-6215-14-4.
• Addington Hall J, Gerard K, Heaney D, Lattimer V, Salisbury C. (2012) The impact of variations in out of hours end of life care provision on patient experience, staff and health systems. NIHR HS&DR Final Report.
• Pope C, Turnbull J, Halford S, Pritchard J, Mays C, Barrett C, Lattimer V. (2012) Ethnography and survey analysis of a computer decision support system in urgent out-of-hours, single point of access and emergency (999) care. NIHR HS&DR Final Report.
• Lattimer V, Dale J, Peckham, S, Salisbury C. et al.  The impact of changing workforce patterns in emergency and urgent out-of-hours care on patient experience, staff practice and health system performance. Final Report NIHR HS&DR.
• Turnbull J, Pope C, Martin D, Lattimer V (2011) Management of out of hours calls by a general practice co-operative: a geographical analysis of telephone access and consultation. Family Practice 28 (6):677-82.
• Turnbull J, Pope C, Martin D, Lattimer V. (2010) Do telephones overcome geographical barriers to general practice out-of-hours services? Mixed-methods study of parents with young children. J Health Serv Res Policy. 2010 Jan;15(1):21-7. Epub 2009 Oct 20.
• Dowding D, Randell R, Mitchell N, Lattimer V, Foster R, Thompson C.  Nurses’ use of computerised clinical decision support systems: a case site analysis. Journal of Clinical Nursing. Apr;18(8):1159-67.
• Mitchell N, Dowding D, Randell R, Lattimer V, Foster R, Thompson C.  (2009) A National Survey of Computerised Decision Support Systems Available to Nurses in England. Journal of Nursing Management. 2009 Nov;17(7):772-80
• Dowding D, Randell R, Mitchell N, Foster R, Thompson C, Lattimer V, Cullum N. (2009) Experience and nurses use of computerised decision support systems. Stud Health Technol Inform. 146:506-10.
• Turnbull J, Martin D, Lattimer V, Pope C, Culliford D. (2008) Does distance matter? Geographical variation in GP out-of-hours service use: an observational study. British Journal of General Practice. 58(552):471-7.
• Walsh B, Roberts HC, Nicholls PG, Lattimer VA (2008) Trends in hospital inpatient episodes for signs, symptoms and ill-defined conditions: observational study of older people's hospital episodes in England, 1995-2003. Age and Ageing. 37(4):455-8.
• Pope C, Banks J, Salisbury C, Lattimer V (2008) Improving access to primary care: eight case studies of introducing Advanced Access in England. Journal of Health Services Research and  Policy 13(1):33-9.
•  Meads G, Lattimer V, Burgess A. (2008) Networking: urgent health care networks.Primary Health Care Research and Development, 9(2): 109-112.
• Salisbury C, Goodall S, Montgomery A, Pickin M, Edwards S, Sampson F, Simons L. Lattimer V. (2007) Does advanced access improve access to primary health care? Questionnaire survey of patients.British Journal of General Practice, 57, (541), 615-621
• Salisbury, C., Montgomery, A.A., Simons, L., Sampson, F., Edwards, S., Baxter, H., Goodall, S., Smith, H., Lattimer, V and Pickin, D.M. (2007) Impact of Advanced Access on access, workload, and continuity: controlled before-and-after and simulated-patient study.British Journal of General Practice, 57, (541), 608-614
• Salisbury, C., Montgomery, A.A., Simons, L., Sampson, F., Edwards, S., Baxter, H., Goodall, S.,
• Smith, H., Lattimer, V. and Pickin, M.D. (2007) Impact of Advanced Access on access, workload, and continuity: controlled before-and-after and simulated-patient study.British Journal of General Practice, 57, (541), 608-614.
• Chalder, Melanie, Montgomery, Alan, Hollinghurst, Sandra, Cooke, Matthew, Munro, James,
• Lattimer, Val, Sharp, Deborah and Salisbury, Chris (2007) Comparing care at walk-in centres and at accident and emergency departments: an exploration of patient choice, preference and satisfaction.Emergency Medical Journal, 24, (4), 260-264
• McPherson K,  Kersten P, George S, Lattimer V, Ellis B, Breton A, Kaur D, Frampton G. A
• systematic review of evidence about extended roles for Allied Health Professionals Journal of Health Services Research and Policy.
• Gerard K, Lattimer V, Surridge H, George S, Turnbull J, Burgess A, Lathlean J, Smith H. The introduction of integrated out-of-hours arrangements in England: A discrete choice experiment of public preferences for alternative models of care. Health Expectations 2006; 9: 60-69.
• Lattimer V, Turnbull J, Burgess A,  Surridge H, Gerard K, Lathlean J, Smith H, George S. Effect of introduction of integrated out of hours care in England: observational study. British Medical Journal. 2005; 331:81-84