Professor Cliff Hughes AO is the Immediate Past President of the International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua). He is chair of the Board Accreditation Council for ISQua.  He is Professor, Patient Safety and Clinical Quality, Macquarie University.  Formerly a cardiothoracic surgeon he was Chief Executive of the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission for ten years and has published widely on cardiothoracic surgery, quality and safety.

He holds an Alumni Award from the University of NSW. He is an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO).  In 2014, he graduated from the University of NSW as a Doctor of Science. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons awarded him the Sir Hugh Devine Medal in 2015.

He is a board member of the Medstar Institute for Quality and Safety in Washington DC Advisor WHO Policy Roundtable on Quality in Health Services, a Consultant in Quality and Safety, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and Visiting Professor at Imperial College, London.  He is a founding member of ISQua’s  International Academy of Quality and Safety in Health Care. 

He is married with three adult children and ten grandchildren. His hobby is railways and he is a “qualified” steam train driver on the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, UK.

His clinical passion is patient safety, quality Improvement and the development of clinical leaders.