Peter WestAcademic

Biography

Dr Peter West is a health economist and health services researcher who works as a freelance consultant to pharmaceutical firms and NHS bodies. He has over 40 years of experience working for consulting groups, universities, and government agencies across the UK, Ireland, Australia, the USA, and in developing countries on cost-effectiveness studies in health economics. He has served two terms as a non-executive director of NHS trusts, and joined the board of Princess Alice Hospice in 2014. He has authored three books and many research papers and reports on health services economics and policy. He is a regular commentator in the Health Service Journal, where he has argued for independent patient and public voice on primary care network governing bodies and critiqued the scoping of public health programme evaluations.

References

1. 1.Dr Peter West | Contributor | Health Service Journal — Establishes his role as a health economist, health services researcher, freelance consultant to pharma and NHS, non-executive NHS trust history, and authorship of three books and research papers.
2. 2.Peter West – Board Member at Princess Alice Hospice | The Org — Confirms over 40 years' experience across UK, Ireland, Australia and USA in cost-effectiveness studies, two NHS trust NED terms, and board membership at Princess Alice Hospice from 2014.
3. 3.Peter West | The Nuffield Trust — Lists him as Health Economist at Princess Alice Hospice and credits a 1998 report on the history of hospitals in the UK.
4. 4.Understanding the National Health Service Reforms: The Creation of Incentives? – AbeBooks — Evidences one of his authored books on NHS reforms and market-style incentives, associated with United Medical Schools of Guy's and St Thomas'.
5. 5.

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Health economics
• Cost-effectiveness analysis
• NHS policy and reform
• Primary care governance
• Public health programme evaluation
• Healthcare financing

Notable achievements

• Authored three books on health services economics and policy, including a study of NHS reforms and market-style incentives based on his work at the United Medical Schools of Guy's and St Thomas'. Source ↗
• Served two terms as a non-executive director of NHS trusts, contributing governance experience across the health sector. Source ↗
• Joined the Board of Princess Alice Hospice in 2014, bringing health economics expertise to the governance of an Outstanding-rated hospice charity. Source ↗
• Co-authored a Nuffield Trust report on the history of hospitals in the UK and the impact of specialisation and the growth of cottage hospitals (1998). Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “A rating for an entire hospital based on 30 metrics is no use to me if I need elective surgery. There can be five to 20 surgical departments in a large hospital. Outcomes for elective surgery will vary between them and between individual surgeons.”

  Health economist · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Hospital league tables will harm, not heal, the NHS | Letters ↗

Source references

1. Hospital league tables will harm, not heal, the NHS | Letterstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.hsj.co.uk/dr-peter-west/3007915.bio
• Staff pagehttps://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/person/peter-west

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.