Our clinical leaders

Dr. Rajiv Sharma is the Deputy Chief Medical Officer (DCMO) for the Black Country Integrated Care Board.

He is the Chair of the Integrated Medicines Optimisation Board for the Black Country system which oversees the use of Medicines and Therapeutic resources for our population of 1.3 million people.

He is also the system Chief Medical Officer representative for the Black Country Urgent and Emergency Care Board and a member of the West Midlands Integrated Urgent Care Commissioners Group, helping to oversee Urgent and Emergency Care services for our population.

Dr. Sharma jointly oversees the Innovation and Research portfolio working closely with colleagues in the CMO directorate, higher education, the Population Health Academy and digital to drive long term change to meet the needs of the population and support the reduction of health inequalities.

Having a lifelong interest in tech and working as part of and alongside IT and digital teams within healthcare, Dr. Sharma is involved in digital transformation, supports the wider strategic ICS digital agenda, including systems interoperability and enhancement of the Primary-Secondary Care Interface.

Dr. Sharma is the Co-Chair of the Midlands Deputy Chief Medical Officer Forum which brings together DCMOs from across all 11 Midlands NHS Integrated Care Boards - helping to share best practice across the region and solve shared cross-boundary healthcare related challenges.

In 2024 he was appointed to NHS England’s Clinical Advisory Group for Primary Care - collectively directing national research to support workforce and workflow optimisation, working with the Health Foundation and Strategy Unit.

Prior to this Dr. Sharma held a number of system level roles including Clinical Executive for Strategic Partnerships and Primary Care Clinical Lead Executive for Urgent & Emergency Care. He has also been member of NHS England’s National Working Group for Online Triage in Primary Care.

Dr. Sharma graduated from the University of Birmingham and started out his medical career as a Clinical Radiologist before becoming a General Practitioner. He has also worked as a Primary Care Consultant in Secondary Care, supporting to establish and run an Ambulatory Emergency Care Department – helping to bridge the gap between Primary and Secondary Care.

He continues to treat his patients - passionate about delivering as much care in the community as possible. 

Dr. Sharma is a firm believer in collaborative working between all partners - in health and social care, VCSE, and local government - in addition to supporting the workforce, utilising the right health tech, and engaging with patients and their families to improve patient services and system standards – and the profound impact this can make to improving care.

Salma Reehana is a GP by background and is currently the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Black Country ICB. She is passionate about Health Inequalities and currently chairs the Underserved Communities Strategic Forum within Black Country ICS. She is also strategically involved in key areas of Mental Health, Cancer and Women’s health as part of the role.

She began her career as a GP Partner in 2015 and led the formation of a super partnership currently catering for 60 K patients. She is also currently the Clinical Director for Wolverhampton South East PCN.

Salma was the Chair for Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group from 2017 to 2021 while it maintained an outstanding rating. She led the merger of four CCGs in Black country to form the Black Country and West Birmingham CCG in preparation for handover to ICBs, chairing it from 2021 to 2022.

She was also responsible for the formation of Black Country Primary Care Collaborative in 2022, paving the way for primary care transformation.

She has a strong background in GP education and was a training programme Director for GP education in West Midlands for which she was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal College of GP. 

She is also an alumnus of Kings Fund having completed the Collaborative Leadership Programme and has also recently completed the Leading Digital Transformation Programme from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Mona Sidhu is the Primary Care Medical Director for Black Country ICB and has been a practicing GP in Wolverhampton for the past 24 years. She is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and General Practice and holds diplomas in Sexual Health, Obstetrics, and Gynaecology, as well as a Master's degree in Diabetes.

Additionally, she serves as an honorary senior lecturer at Keele University and is actively involved in various roles within the medical community. Dr. Sidhu is a GP trainer, mentor, and Training Program Director. She has worked as a Clinical Lead for diabetes, end-of-life care, and cancer at both place and system levels. She has also served as a Clinical Director and Divisional Medical Director for the Royal Wolverhampton Trust.

Dr. Sidhu is deeply committed to delivering patient-centred, excellent primary care, which she views as the foundation of the NHS. Her passion lies in breaking down the barriers between primary, secondary, and community care to enhance overall patient care and experience.

Mr Hemant Patel FRPharmS BSc (Pharm), MSc (iPres), MSc (Healthcare Leadership)

Hemant is Director of Medicines and Clinical Policy at Black Country ICB, responsible for commissioning medicines and clinical policies for 1.3million people. Leading a large team of clinical and non-clinical staff to improve the health outcomes for this population. 

Starting his career with Boots the Chemist, before working at the Children’s Hospital, Sydney, Australia.  Hemant then began working at Royal Wolverhampton Trust for a few years before working in primary care as a practice-based pharmacist in 2003 in Walsall & Wolverhampton.  In 2006 he completed his non-medical prescribing course and to this day continues to provide a patient-facing role, focusing on long-term conditions management. Hemant completed a Master's in Prescribing specialising in diabetes.

Hemant moved into a more strategic role at Wolverhampton Primary Care Trust where he led on community pharmacy as well as long-term conditions management. Leading a team of pharmacists and technicians to focus on optimising the management of those with cardiovascular disease & diabetes. His strategic roles expanded when migrating into the CCG before taking on the Head of Medicines Optimisation role in 2018.  He also helped found the Midlands Practice Pharmacist Network (MPPN), a group that facilitates research and training for GP practice pharmacists and technicians. Hemant has recently completed the MSc Elizabeth Garratt Anderson NHS leadership course to support his and his team’s devolvement.

In his role as Director of Medicines and Clinical Policy at Black Country ICB, he leads a team responsible for commissioning medicines and clinical policies to improve health outcomes. 

Career highlights include leading on the provision of Covid treatments, leading a team to improve cardiovascular outcomes, cofounding MPPN, and medicines governance across the system. Leading on the creation of a single Black Country Formulary, a strategic Integrated Medicines Optimisation Group. Hemant chairs the Pharmacy Leadership Group, a multi sector pharmacy system wide professional group across the Black Country. Hemant has also SRO for clinical policies and has overseen the harmonisation of policies to reduce the inequity across the Black Country.

In 2022 he became a Consultant Pharmacist Assessor for Royal Pharmaceutical Society to assess aspiring consultants. During 2023 he was awarded a fellowship by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society for his services to the pharmacy profession. In 2024 he was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the University of Wolverhampton, for his services to Pharmacy and Prescribing.