Dr Paul Dean

Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine | Chief Clinical Information Officer | Expert Witness

I am a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine based at Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, with a long-standing career in the NHS spanning clinical care, leadership, and national advisory roles.

In addition to my clinical practice, I serve as:

  • Chief Clinical Information Officer for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust
  • Medical Lead for the Lancashire and South Cumbria Critical Care Network
  • Editor-in-Chief of the Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services
  • Trustee and Honorary Treasurer of the Intensive Care Society

I am a Fellow of:

  • The Royal College of Anaesthetists
  • The Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
  • The Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management

My career integrates:

  • Frontline critical care delivery
  • National guideline development
  • Digital transformation in healthcare
  • Patient safety and quality improvement
  • This breadth of experience underpins my expert witness work, ensuring opinions are clinically robust, system-aware, and aligned with current UK standards.

Expert Witness Services

 

I provide independent expert opinion in cases relating to Intensive Care Medicine and associated acute care pathways as well as digital systems and clinical informatics.

 

Areas of Expertise

 

  • Intensive Care Medicine (adult critical care)
  • Sepsis recognition and management
  • Deteriorating patient pathways (including NEWS and escalation)
  • Airway management and resuscitation
  • Major trauma and emergency care
  • Critical care transfers
  • Organisational systems and patient safety
  • Clinical governance and service delivery
  • Digital systems and clinical information governance in healthcare

 

Medico-Legal Services

 

  • Breach of duty and causation reports
  • Screening reports
  • Joint expert reports
  • Conference with counsel
  • Court attendance

 

All reports are:

 

  • Compliant with Civil Procedure Rules (Part 35)
  • Clear, structured, and evidence-based
  • Delivered within agreed timelines

 

My expert witness work is:

  • Independent and objective
  • Evidence-based and guideline-informed
  • Clear and accessible to the court
  • I understand the importance of:
  • Clarity for non-clinical audiences
  • Timeliness and reliability
  • Maintaining professional integrity

 

Experience & Credibility

 

  • Over 15 years’ experience as a Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine
  • Senior leadership roles across NHS Trust and regional critical care network
  • Extensive involvement in national guideline development, including COVID-19 guidance
  • Advisor to national bodies including NHS England, NICE, MHRA, and others
  • Published author in peer-reviewed journals and national guidance
  • Experienced educator, clinical supervisor, and lecturer

 

I bring a combination of:

 

  • Clinical credibility
  • Systems-level understanding
  • National policy insight
  • This allows for balanced, defensible expert opinions that consider both individual clinical decisions and the wider healthcare context.

 

Publications & Guidelines

 

  • I have contributed extensively to national and international publications, including:
  • Lead Editor: Guidelines for the Provision of Intensive Care Services (2026)
  • National COVID-19 critical care guidance
  • Enhanced Care Unit development frameworks
  • Sepsis and critical care standards
  • Peer-reviewed journal articles and textbook chapters

 

My work focuses on improving:

 

  • Patient safety
  • Service resilience
  • Quality of care in critical illness

 

Digital & Leadership Expertise

 

  • As Chief Clinical Information Officer, I lead on:
  • Clinical information systems
  • Digital transformation strategies
  • Data governance and patient safety
  • Integration of technology into clinical workflows
  • This provides additional expertise in cases involving:
  • Electronic health records
  • Clinical decision support systems
  • Documentation and data-related issues
  • Digital safety and system failures

 

Training & Accreditation

 

  • Expert Witness Training (2026)
  • Bond Solon – Excellence in Written Evidence
  • NHS Resolution Case Investigator Training
  • Caldicott Guardian Training (2025)
  • Fully registered medical practitioner with specialist registration and licence to practise in the UK.