My role

I work in University Hospitals Dorset (UHD) and as part of the re-configuration post-merger I was delighted to be appointed as Head of Innovation in April 2021. I am the Lead for the Dorset ICS Innovation Hub and work day-day in an acute emergency university trust and within the Dorset integrated care system. The hub is one of 4 newly designated Health Foundation Innovation Hubs in the UK. The innovation hub hosted by UHD is overseen by a programme group of 13 partners: primary, community secondary and social care, academia, innovation, research, economy, industry and with patient and public involvement and engagement. We focus on the adaptation of innovation to the local context, using patient and public involvement and co-production principles to ensure that the process takes account of and is sensitive to the needs of patients, staff, existing culture and working practices.

Contact details

A brief insight about my journey to date

I have worked in the NHS since the early 90’s in leadership roles within the golden thread of quality including clinical audit, clinical research, innovation and quality improvement, and until recently was Head of Research, Innovation, NICE and Clinical Audit at Poole Hospital. I am the General Secretary for N-QI-CAN (National Quality Improvement and Clinical Audit Network), previously chaired the South West Audit Network (SWANs) and am the chair of the Clinical Ethics Group at University Hospitals Dorset (Poole site). I am a Health Foundation Q Community member and accredited NHSE Quality Service Improvement and Redesign (QSIR) Associate. I am undertaking a PhD researching improving the quality of patient care through leadership, culture, and communication. I am also developing a clinical research project reviewing using QI to improve patient care and am delighted to be working on this project with an amazing team including the Picker Institute Europe.