Richard Rackham is an experienced leader and manager. He started his career in the NHS following his Batchelor’s Degree in Chemistry and Biology.
Richard worked in laboratories for approximately fifteen years, mainly in haematology and blood transfusion. He became a Fellow of the Institute of Biomedical Scientists and studied for a Master’s degree in Biochemical Immunology. He was also published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood for work undertaken on the use of erythropoietin in the anaemia of prematurity.
Richard then moved into health service management. He concentrated on corporate governance disciplines such as risk management, health and safety, emergency planning and business continuity. Richard is a chartered health and safety practitioner. He has a Master’s degree in Clinical Law and an MBA. Richard is also a lead auditor for ISO9001, ISO22301 and OHSAS18001. He has also spoken at conferences across the UK, in Germany, Denmark and in Saudi Arabia.
Practical experience
Richard led the response for a London Primary Care Trust to the 2005 London Bombings and for the blood service to pandemic influenza in 2009/10 and the Olympic Games in 2012. His plans were used and he was heavily involved with the blood service response to a major flood and he was instrumental in the certification of NHSBT to BS25999 and the subsequent transfer to ISO22301.
Richard Rackham is a Christian and attends church at Billericay Methodist Church, where he is a trainee local preacher. “Lost Sheep” blogs are some of Richard’s talks, sermons and prayers. Feel free to share!
Richard has also been a school governor, spending four years as chairman, and has been a local councillor. He is a Rotarian (see his views here) and a member of his local Rotary club, and he supports the Rotary Foundation Charity which is responsible for the End Polio Now Campaign. He and his wife Nicky have four boys, and live in Essex.
Publications
Transfusion emergency preparedness for mass casualty events
Heidi Doughty and Richard Rackham
ISBT Science Series (September 2018), DOI: 10.1111/voxs.12448
Circulating blood: a conversation between Stephanie Sodero and Richard Rackham on vital mobilities in the UK
Stephanie Sodero and Richard Rackham
Applied Mobilities (2018), DOI: 10.1080/23800127.2018.1515335
Emergency planning and business continuity: why blood services must plan for both. How the EBA working group (WG) is assisting blood services
R Rackham, A Kelly
ISBT Science Series
Business continuity in blood services: two case studies from events with potentially catastrophic effect on the national provision of blood components
SJ Morgan, RA Rackham, S Penny, JR Lawson, RJ Walsh, SL Ismay
Vox sanguinis 108 (2), 151-159
Going for gold: blood planning for the London 2012 Olympic Games
SM Glasgow, S Allard, R Rackham, H Doughty
Transfusion Medicine 24 (3), 145-153
Modernising the anticoagulant service: improving efficiency and patient accessibility, new technologies, new working practices
EJ Watts, B Allan, N Kelaher, J Clark, R Rackham
Clinician in Management (2000) 9(1), 11-18
In outpatient anticoagulant management, optimal efficiency and convenience for patients is achievable with community based phlebotomy, centralised testing and computerised dosing for the majority of patients
EJ Watts, R Rackham, J Clark
British Journal of Haematology-Supplement 105 (1S) (1999)
Erythropoietin responsive progenitors in anaemia of prematurity
Emmerson AJ, Westwood NB, Rackham RA, et al
Archives of Disease in Childhood 1991;66:810-811