David Oliver is originally from Manchester trained in medicine at Oxford and then Cambridge in the 1980s and after training jobs in numerous hospitals, became a consultant in 1998 – initially at Queen Marr’s Hospital and since 2004 has been Consultant Physician in Geriatric and General Internal Medicine at the Royal Berkshire Hospital. He was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Reading and is now visiting Professor of Medicine for Older People at City University, London and having been a specialist clinical advisor to the Department of Health was then appointed National Clinical Director for Older People at the Department of Health a few weeks before the election (seconded to government alongside his ongoing clinical work).

He has developed new clinical services for falls, syncope and hip fracture in his current and previous hospital post at Queen Mary’s Hospital and has been a clinical director in both organisations. He has published and lectured extensively on the subject of fall prevention (the subject of his original doctoral thesis), but also fracture rehabilitation, health services for older people and ethical and legal issues in old age and has taught and supervised a range of health professionals. He also has Masters Degrees in health management, health leadership and healthcare ethics and law. He is a former national secretary of the British Geriatrics Society, President of its falls and bone health section and falls/bone health editor for Age and Ageing. In these roles, he advised numerous governmental bodies and frequently appeared in the media commenting on healthcare for older people. He has also led the BGS/Taiwan training programme for new geriatricians with the Taiwanese Veterans Administration.

He has been coming to the Battle of the Ideas since the first event and spoken at a number of sessions before as well as judging in the Institute’s Debating Matters competition and is delighted to be back