Using technology to detect and prevent falls in care homes

Published on September 16, 2025 by Tash Hadley

Falls remain a major concern in care homes, affecting residents’ health, independence and staff workload. We recently hosted a roundtable, involving care providers, ICBs and local authorities to explore how technologies such as AI sensors, 3D monitoring and acoustic devices can help. Reported benefits included fewer night-time falls, better sleep, early detection of health issues and improved staff workflows. However, challenges around infrastructure, system integration, funding and evidence remain. A full report from the discussion is now available.

Download the roundtable discussion

Access the full report to learn how care homes, health partners and local authorities are using technology to detect and prevent falls, the benefits achieved, and the challenges to wider adoption.

Falls are a major concern for older adults in care homes, affecting both health and quality of life. They can lead to injuries, hospital admissions, and loss of independence, while placing pressure on staff and the wider health system. Digital technologies, including AI-enabled sensors, 3D monitoring systems, and acoustic devices, offer new ways to reduce falls and support residents’ wellbeing.

We recently hosted a roundtable bringing together care providers, Integrated Care Boards, and local authorities to explore how technology can help detect and prevent falls for London care home residents. Participants shared experiences from piloting these technologies in their care settings – discussing lessons learned, benefits, and challenges in implementation.

Attendees reported a range of benefits from using these technologies. Falls can be detected in real time, and staff can gain insights into resident behaviour patterns to prevent future incidents. Some homes have seen reductions in night-time falls, fewer unwitnessed incidents, and improved sleep for residents due to less intrusive monitoring.

Beyond falls prevention, technologies have supported early detection of health issues and provided data to inform personalised care. Staff also benefit from reduced need for 1:1 monitoring and better workflows, which can support retention and job satisfaction. Attendees agreed that as residents, families, and staff become more accustomed to digital tools, technology-enabled care environments are likely to become standard practice.

Despite the promise, challenges remain. Infrastructure limitations, integration with existing systems, evidence gaps, and sustainable funding models were highlighted as key barriers to widespread adoption. Pilots have mostly been funded through grants or the Digitising Social Care programme, and future investment may require partnerships between care providers, the NHS, and potentially residents or families. Stronger evidence demonstrating cost savings and improvements in care quality will be crucial to inform these decisions.

The full report from this discussion is available here.

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For more information about our work in care homes and the community, please get in touch.

Reimagining dementia pathways

Published on August 20, 2025 and last updated on August 20, 2025 by Tash Hadley

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The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London’s “Reimagining Dementia Pathways” panel at ConfedExpo 2025 brought together perspectives from clinical leadership and the frontlines of innovation. The session was chaired by Ayobola Chike-Michael, Senior Project Manager in the Mental Health team at the HIN. She was joined by colleague Dr Antonio Ruiz-Gonzalez, Project Manager in the Digital Transformation and Tech team at the HIN; Zunera Khan, Research Portfolio Lead at the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Brain Health; and Matea Deliu, GP Clinical Lead at South East London Integrated Care System, and Lead Medical Advisor at Neu Health. Ayobola Chike-Michael and Dr Antonio Ruiz-Gonzalez share reflections on the state of innovation in dementia in this co-written blog.

Around a million people in the UK have dementia, and this is expected to rise to 1.4 million by 2040. Leaps have been made in recent years as dementia blood testing might be a possibility soon, and promising disease-modifying treatments are in the final phase of clinical trials. With these rapid advancements happening in diagnostics, therapeutics, and systems thinking, the panel conversation could not be timelier. Our session brought together voices from clinical leadership, research, and frontline innovation to reflect on where dementia care is now, and where it is going.

Dementia care landscape

With over 60 attendees in the audience, we opened the session by introducing the HIN’s Dementia HealthTech Horizon Scan – Autumn 2024. The scan, developed jointly by the HIN and NIHR, is a snapshot of the current innovations in the health tech landscape for early diagnosis of dementia. We reviewed 43 companies, most of them early-stage, exploring approaches ranging from cognitive assessments and blood-based biomarkers to brain imaging using AI. While many of these technologies are still building their evidence base, the direction is clear: there is real momentum in this space, and the promise of earlier, more accurate diagnosis is growing.

Innovation beyond diagnosis

Innovations enabling dementia patients to be diagnosed at earlier stages also expands the window of time for therapeutic interventions and care planning. This extra time allows for dementia patients and their families to prepare and explore options that improve their quality of life. This is opening space for innovators in both the therapeutics and care sectors to respond with solutions tailored to earlier-stage dementia.

The next two editions of the Dementia Horizon Scans highlight some of the treatments and care innovations on the market today. It includes cutting-edge technologies like virtual reality which are already beginning to reshape dementia care itself. For example, Recreo VR, a company that is part of the Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme delivered by the HIN, integrate virtual reality solutions for care homes to improve resident’s mental and social wellbeing. Their service was co-designed with individuals affected by dementia to prioritise the best outcomes for patients. There was consensus among the panel that structured programmes like Mindset-XR, as well as partnerships, are vital for supporting and scaling these emerging innovations.

Partnerships and collaboration

Zunera Khan, Research Portfolio Lead, shared insights on how the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Brain Health partner with organisations to accelerate real world solutions. Much like the HIN and it’s work through DigitalHealth.London, the HealthTech Research Centre acts as a bridge to collaboration. Her team’s collaborations span Association of British HealthTech Industries, MedCity, academics, clinicians, and other Health Innovation Networks. The HRC is playing a vital role in helping innovation translate into patient impact.

By connecting innovators with the right partners in the early stages, the HRC helps shorten the journey from concept to market. This means that once new technologies are proven to be safe and effective, they can be adopted by the NHS quicker, meaning patients will also benefit from them sooner. As we know, for diseases like dementia, time is of the essence for patients and their families. Speeding up innovation ensures that patients receive intervention in the earlier stages, when it can make the greatest difference to their quality of life.

Patient-centred systems

Dr. Matea Deliu’s dual lens, as a GP and an innovator, steered the conversation towards patient focused innovation in dementia care. Representing Neu Health, Dr. Deliu introduced their remote patient monitoring technology for management of chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s and dementia. The vision behind it was to design a continuous, person-centred, and data-informed care tool that will be accessible for all. Their tech uses smartphones to connect suspected cognitive decline patients to a memory clinic triage and onward tracking.

She showed us how their approach keeps the person at the centre of care. By using digital biomarkers, wearables, and remote monitoring tools, healthcare professionals can get a clear overview of the patient's past and present clinical state. This allows for more personalised interventions, which in turn can result in better outcomes for patients. The patient-centred system has already shown enhanced clinical outcomes as clinicians report significant improvements in care and clinical outcomes for 90% of patients. This was a particularly compelling portion of the conversation as it brought the importance of patients lived experiences into focus.

Conclusion

Overall, the panel offered grounds for optimism regarding the direction and pace of innovation in the dementia space today. Dementia remains one of the most complex challenges in the healthcare system, but growing alignment across the system is helping to drive necessary change. Structured programmes, strong partnerships, and co-design with patients were identified as the key components for accelerating effective innovations. Beyond technological progress, the prospect of adopting these innovations into the NHS offers patients and their families the opportunity for earlier intervention, and a better quality of life.

From AI-powered diagnostics to virtual reality therapies and remote monitoring tools, the conversation also highlighted how early detection creates opportunities for timely treatment and personalised support. The HIN’s Dementia Health Tech Horizon Scans continue to map and contribute to the evolving landscape of innovations in the dementia space, and you can access the reports below.

Dementia Health Tech Horizon Scan — Diagnosis

Read the report.

Dementia Health Tech Horizon Scan — Better care

Read the report.

Dementia Health Tech Horizon Scan — New treatment

Read the report.

Find out more

For more information about our work in dementia, please get in touch.

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Integrated Neighbourhood Teams: developing models for learning and evaluation

Published on July 3, 2025 by Tash Hadley

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Welcome to the third blog in our Neighbourhood Health series, which have previously covered an introduction to INTs and creating the conditions for INTs to flourish. Here, our Senior Evaluation Manager Camille Aznar discusses how we might most usefully evaluate existing and emerging INTs.

Related blogs

Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) – What are they and why are they important?
Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) – How to create the conditions where INTs can flourish

In line with the priorities set out in the 10 Year Health Plan for England, the emergence of integrated neighbourhood teams (INTs) represents a significant and promising shift towards a more person-centred model of care, driven by collaboration between the many and varied stakeholders who can influence health at a local level. Building and sustaining these relationships will be essential to achieving meaningful impact and improved health outcomes.

While there will rightly be a strong emphasis on measuring impact and embedding learning within these teams, it is important to move beyond only tracking data and patient outcomes.

A comprehensive evaluation of INTs will require us to understand the factors underpinning the successful implementation of these models and the intricacies of how these partnerships function in practice. This includes exploring the enablers and barriers to collaboration, the extent of genuine co-production of new approaches to improving health outcomes, and the factors that contribute to more efficient and effective workforce models.

As stated in NHS England’s 2025 Neighbourhood Health guidelines:

“Systems are supposed to be rigorously evaluating the impact of these actions, ways of working and enablers both in terms of outcomes for local people and effective use of public money.”

Ultimately, it is crucial to adopt a broader perspective, shifting the focus from isolated project-level activities to neighbourhood-wide outcomes and programme-level learning. A systems-level view will help us better understand and navigate the complexity of integrated neighbourhood working. Developing a common evaluation ‘framework’ that includes a core set of metrics, will help to ensure that there is consistency in our approach and increase our ability to share learning effectively. In developing our approach, we need to draw on existing work, for example Iqbal et al. (2025).

The guidelines further emphasise:

“Local systems will need to consider each component within the context of the needs of their local population and the current configuration of services. They will also need to evaluate how effectively individual interventions link together to improve the way services are delivered for their local population and the outcomes people achieve.”

The welcome emphasis on a ‘test and learn’ approach in the Neighbourhood Health guidelines highlights the importance of iterative improvement. Our recent evaluations (such as our evaluation of the Health Equity Team programme in Lewisham, or our evaluation of the Rough Sleeping and Mental Health Programme) have prioritised collaborative working with partners, capturing learning as it emerges. We aim to act as both a learning partner and a critical friend – providing targeted, co-produced, and actionable recommendations to support service improvement.

At the HIN, our evaluation approach is grounded in:

Close collaboration with partners;
A focus on capturing emergent learning;
A commitment to delivering practical, co-produced insights that supprot continuous improvement.

As part of our South London Evaluation Advice Clinic’s pilot, delivered in partnership with King’s Health Partners and King’s Improvement Science, we advised Sutton INTs’ Outcome Framework. Nadine Wyatt, Health and Care Integration Programme Lead at London Borough of Sutton said:

“Developing an effective evaluation approach for Integrated Neighbourhood Teams (INTs) requires a combination of strategic alignment, robust data infrastructure, and collaborative culture. Key enablers for us include a shared outcomes framework which we co-produced with partners, aligned data systems across organisations, and mixed-methods evaluation approaches that reflect the complexity of local systems. We learnt that challenges such as fragmented data, varying partner priorities, and limited analytical capacity can be addressed through joint ownership, investment in shared analytics platforms, and partnerships with academic institutions. Embedding realist and developmental evaluation methods allow our teams to understand what works, for whom, and in what context – which is critical for continuous learning.

Although we have limited evaluation capacity, Sutton received excellent guidance and feedback on the Sutton INT Outcome Framework which will be incorporated in our future work. Our philosophy is an informed approach to: Keep doing what is working and stop what is not working!”

A key challenge we anticipate is the variability of INTs in practice. Teams are likely to differ in workforce models, and priority areas. The lack of standardisation will complicate evaluation efforts, underscoring the importance of a scoping and formative approach that values real-world context and data over rigid evaluation frameworks. We are looking forward to the challenge.

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For more information about our work around INTs, please get in touch.

Can the high street save the NHS?

Published on July 1, 2025 and last updated on July 1, 2025 by Tash Hadley

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In this blog by Kerry Beadling-Barron, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, argues why a more nuanced approach to engaging with the private sector could result in a big gain for the public, and actually be more popular than policy makers realise.

Neighbourhood health has become a favoured phrase in recent weeks while people try to second guess what may be in the upcoming 10 Year Health Plan. What it’s trying to achieve is clear – care closer to home and delivered in a way that stops people becoming more ill. However, its definition is less clear – at what level does neighbourhood sit? Is borough level too high, should it be at PCN or is that too low? Who should lead it – primary care, community care, a mix, an acute provider organisation? Who does it involve (local authorities, voluntary and community sector organisations, charities)?

It’s this last question I want to tackle. While there is a lot of talk about breaking the barriers between health and social care and the importance of involving the third sector, there is much less noise in the role of the private sector. Traditionally we can see that there is less trust from the public in the private sector involvement in the NHS – the London Health Data Programme public deliberations over the years have found that the public do not instinctively trust commercial companies with the idea of accessing data. When it comes to trust the recently released Ipsos Veracity survey instead shows nurses as the most trusted profession (with doctors third most). The public trust the NHS with the NHS and are wary of others getting involved.

But I think this is a broadbrush approach that misses a critical nuance in the argument. For example with data, the lack of trust is usually aimed at large pharmaceuticals or insurance companies. There is current private sector involvement in healthcare that most people trust (shown through footfall if nothing else). On the high street in towns across the country people are having eye tests and ear checks at national chains or at local privately owned versions. Many have been paying for private dental care for decades and people by in large trust them and go back. A recent YouGov survey shows four in five people want pharmacies to provide treatment for additional conditions and the national Pharmacy First programme has delivered two million consultations in its first 12 months. So what is the difference with these versions of the private sector? It’s the high street. There is a familiarity that has been built up with these businesses and brands, either through direct experience, or the experience of family and friends that mean they don’t feel like faceless organisations, they feel part of the community.

Given this, shouldn’t we include these organisations in any conversation about neighbourhood health, in the way we would include GPs? How can local areas galvanise the expertise on their high streets to support with this? If it means people could go somewhere local that they trust to get care quicker, shouldn’t that be an option? We know that continuity of care is important to addressing health equalities. Therefore it feels like an option that allows someone to build a therapeutic relationship over time with a pharmacist who might be more culturally sensitive, should not be viewed with more suspicion, purely because it involves the private sector.

Then there are the opportunities where innovation is trying to support our health street such as SiSU Health who provide screening/health checks integrated with local primary care services in settings like supermarkets.

Traditionally it has been thought too difficult to involve the private sector wholescale in the provision of NHS care because of perceptions that there is a lack of trust from the public. However as the Government has made clear, we cannot continue to provide care in the same way and change is needed. If that is the case, surely we should look at all options, included trusted experts on our high streets to support with that?

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For more information about our work, please get in touch.

The Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2025: How the NHS three shifts are shaping the future of diabetes care

Published on March 20, 2025 and last updated on April 8, 2025 by Tash Hadley

Sophie Harris, Neel Basudev, and Faye Edwards from the Health Innovation Network South London reflect on their key takeaways from the 2025 Diabetes UK Professional Conference. They explore how the latest innovations and evidence align with the NHS’s three shifts, highlighting the potential to transform diabetes prevention and care across south London and beyond.

The Diabetes UK Professional Conference (DUK) is a pivotal event in the diabetes calendar, bringing together healthcare professionals, researchers, people with lived experience, and system leaders to share insights and best practices. Held this year in a remarkably sunny Glasgow from 26-28 February, the conference showcased the latest developments in diabetes care, treatment, and research.

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London team was well represented, contributing to discussions and presenting work that reflects the commitment of south London colleagues to improving outcomes for people living with diabetes. Among the contributions were three poster presentations focused on improving communication and data sharing in gestational diabetes, learning from those with early onset type 2 diabetes, and developing a Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) Workforce Capacity predictive model to support implementation of NICE Technology Appraisal TA943.

As Diabetes Clinical Directors for the HIN and a Senior Programme Manager, we attended the conference to engage with the latest thinking, evidence, and innovations in diabetes care. This blog shares our reflections, viewed through the lens of the NHS’s three shifts: moving care from hospitals to communities, making better use of technology, and focusing on preventing sickness rather than just treating it. These themes provide a valuable framework to consider how diabetes services can evolve to meet current and future challenges.

Moving care from hospitals to communities

A central theme at this year’s conference was the growing emphasis on shifting care closer to home. This aligns with the NHS’s ambition to reduce reliance on hospital services and strengthen community-based care.

Our recent work on gestational diabetes was highlighted as a case study in a session on midwifery and nursing. Our standardised approach to diabetes data standards and clinical coding in primary care was cited as an example of how system-wide consistency can improve outcomes for pregnant women. This was a proud moment, demonstrating how local initiatives can have national relevance.

The importance of peer support also featured prominently. Several sessions explored how peer support workers are being embedded within diabetes care teams, providing invaluable lived experience and non-clinical guidance. Youth workers, in particular, are being employed to engage young people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. These roles are critical in promoting lifestyle interventions, exercise, and weight management in ways that resonate with younger populations. However, while the benefits are clear, articulating the full impact of peer support to commissioners remains a challenge, as many of the outcomes are nuanced and not easily captured through traditional clinical metrics.

Making better use of technology

The rapid pace of technological innovation was a defining feature of the conference. Hybrid Closed Loop (HCL) technology and Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) are transforming care for people living with type 1 diabetes. The implementation of NICE Guidance TA943 was celebrated as a success, with year one seeing a marked increase in access to HCL systems for children and young people, and equitable uptake across most demographics. The Scottish team’s remote onboarding approach was particularly inspiring, demonstrating that small, centralised teams can successfully scale access to life-changing technology.

Despite these successes, there are areas where the adoption of technology remains complex. For people with type 2 diabetes, the role of CGM and similar technologies is less defined. Challenges around the evidence base, scalability, and cost were cited. Nonetheless, technological advances such as predictive workforce modelling and personalised medication regimens – including a novel five-drug model based on patient demographics – offer a glimpse into a future of truly tailored care.

Focusing on preventing sickness, not just treating it

The need to shift focus towards prevention and early intervention was a strong thread throughout the conference. Early onset type 2 diabetes received considerable attention, with speakers sharing the importance of multidisciplinary teams delivering rapid, holistic interventions aimed at remission. This approach includes access to psychological and peer support, CGM technology, structured education, weight management medications, and preconception and pregnancy care.

Screening and early intervention for type 1 diabetes were also discussed in depth. The ELSA and T1DRA studies demonstrated the feasibility and benefits of early identification through antibody testing. However, simply knowing one’s risk is not enough. Continuous monitoring and, in time, immunotherapies offer new hope for delaying progression to insulin-dependent diabetes. As immunotherapies begin to move into clinical practice in other health systems, there is a clear opportunity, and responsibility, for the NHS to prepare for their adoption.

Meanwhile, the rise of weight management medications like Mounjaro (tirzepatide) remains a hot topic. With significant outcomes, including up to 86% of individuals achieving at least 10% body weight loss, there is enormous potential for these therapies in diabetes prevention and treatment. However, concerns about affordability and prioritisation continue to pose questions for commissioners and policy-makers alike.

Looking forwards

The Diabetes UK Professional Conference 2025 reaffirmed the need for continued innovation, collaboration, and system transformation in diabetes care. Whether through technology, workforce models, peer support, or personalised medicine, the solutions showcased offer tangible ways to align with the NHS’s three shifts and drive better outcomes for people living with diabetes.

For the HIN South London, the conference has reinforced our focus on supporting the implementation of HCL technology, embedding peer support and youth workers in diabetes care pathways, and advancing work on early onset type 2 diabetes. We are also closely monitoring developments in immunotherapy and weight management medications to ensure south London is ready to adopt these interventions in a way that delivers equity and value.

As we look to the future, we remain committed to championing innovations that move care closer to people’s lives, harness technology to improve outcomes, and prioritise prevention to create a healthier south London. We look forward to sharing more at next year’s conference in Liverpool.

Find out more

For more information about our work in diabetes care, please get in touch.

Applications are open for the 2025 Cardiometabolic Fellowship Programme

Published on March 3, 2025 and last updated on July 18, 2025 by Tash Hadley

Applications to this Fellowship have now closed.

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London is launching its fourth Cardiometabolic Fellowship (formerly Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Fellowship). This free programme will assist primary care clinicians to develop clinical skills and knowledge in diabetes, along with cardiovascular disease prevention, to help improve outcomes for patients across south London.  

Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd., Bayer plc and Amarin UK Ltd. have provided funding towards this independent programme. Boehringer Ingelheim Ltd., Bayer plc and Amarin UK Ltd. have had no editorial input into or influence on the agenda or content of this programme.

With over six million people living with CVD in England with a combined cost of £16 billion every year, improving outcomes for at risk patients is an NHS priority. This programme will help to speed up the adoption of innovative initiatives to help prevent CVD across south London.

This free programme builds on our last four successful Fellowships and is aimed at all health care professionals working in primary care or community pharmacy in south London. The Fellowship aligns to local priorities and supports practices and primary care networks (PCNs) in meeting their Quality and Outcomes Framework targets, reducing health inequalities, and reducing risk to your patients.

"This is an invaluable fellowship. I have found working with the HIN extremely beneficial and positive. Meeting others working across London has been fantastic and the HIN team are really supportive"Participant from the 2024 Cardiometabolic Fellowship

What does the Fellowship involve?

The Fellowship Programme is Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited and will provide free expert clinical advice and quality improvement support to help Fellows become CVD prevention and diabetes care champions. It will also help Fellows to deliver a quality improvement project focused on CVD or diabetes in their practice or PCN. You can see examples of 2024 projects here.

Running from April 2025 to November 2025, the Fellowship will consist of:

A launch webinar to introduce you to the Fellowship programme on Friday 4th April.

Clinical webinars led by experts in a range of areas including heart failure, lipid management, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, atrial fibrillation, diabetes and more.

An in-person training day to help develop your quality improvement skills on Thursday 24th April 2025. Attendance at this day is a requirement of the Fellowship.

Ongoing peer and expert sessions to support you in delivering your project, which will run June to October 2025.

A final in person event in to celebrate the work of the Fellowship on Thursday 27th November 2025.

Applications to this Fellowship have now closed.

Apply to the 2025 Cardiometabolic Fellowship

Applications to this Fellowship have now closed.

Download the Fellowship resource pack

Applicants must read the resource pack to ensure they understand the programme details, meet the requirements and can commit to attending the events.

Download

Find out more

For more information on the Cardiometabolic Fellowship please get in touch.

Supporting cardiovascular care across south London through the Cardiometabolic Fellowship

Published on December 10, 2024 and last updated on December 18, 2024 by Tash Hadley

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The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London launched the Cardiometabolic Fellowship programme in 2022 to equip clinicians with advanced skills to tackle cardiovascular and metabolic health inequalities. Former Fellow, Julia Parascandolo shares how the Fellowship boosted her expertise, confidence, and professional network, enabling her to secure a promotion and deliver impactful improvements in patient care and service efficiency across south east London.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains one of the UK’s most pressing health challenges, with 7.6 million people in the UK living with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and an estimated cost to the NHS of around £16 billion every year. To address these issues, we launched the Cardiometabolic Fellowship Programme (formerly known as the CVD Prevention Fellowship) to equip primary care clinicians with advanced skills to prevent and manage cardiovascular and metabolic health challenges.

In this blog, Cardiovascular (Lipid) Specialist Pharmacist Julia Parascandolo shares how her experience in the Cardiometabolic Fellowship Programme enhanced her clinical skills, fostered multidisciplinary collaboration, and helped her tackle disparities in care across south east London. From working as a Lead Pharmacist in Lewisham to her current specialist role, Julia reflects on the Fellowship’s transformative impact on her career, her confidence in patient interactions, and her ability to drive system-wide improvements in CVD prevention and management.

Strengthening collaborative care across south London

The CVD Prevention Fellowship was designed to make a tangible impact on tackling health inequalities in areas like Lewisham, where residents often face disparities in cardiovascular care compared to other boroughs. At the time, I was doing a lot of CVD prevention work as a Lead Pharmacist in Lewisham, but I wanted to build my confidence in one-on-one patient interactions and deepen my skills. The Fellowship felt like the perfect opportunity as not only could I grow my expertise, but I also could learn from other clinicians like GPs and nurses. I knew that by collaborating across disciplines, we could take a more united approach to CVD prevention across south London.

The Fellowship programme was both practical and engaging. The bite-sized lunchtime learning sessions fitted easily into my schedule, and the recorded webinars allowed me to revisit the material and share it with my team during our huddles. I found myself applying the knowledge immediately, whether it was using new tools for EMIS searches or thinking more holistically about patient care. The programme boosted my confidence in patient interactions and equipped me to support my colleagues more effectively. Passing on these skills to newly qualified team members strengthened the whole team’s approach to cardiovascular care and helped us deliver more consistent and informed support to patients across primary care settings.

Enhancing cardiovascular care pathways across primary and secondary care services

Since completing the CVD Prevention Fellowship, I’ve moved into a new role as a Cardiovascular (Lipid) Specialist Pharmacist, focusing on bridging primary and secondary care across Lewisham and Greenwich. I first heard about this opportunity at the final showcase of the CVD Prevention Fellowship, where they announced there would be three new roles in lipid (cholesterol) management opening across south east London. When the job description came through, it felt like it was made for me. It was a chance to apply my skills on a larger scale and help reduce cardiovascular risks across the community in a meaningful way.

In primary care, I spend a lot of time working with GPs and pharmacists to improve their knowledge and skills in lipid management. This includes delivering bite-sized educational sessions on topics like treatment targets, new medications, and when to safely de-prescribe. I also run joint clinics and multidisciplinary team sessions to provide hands-on support, helping other pharmacists become more specialised in lipid management. By upskilling clinicians, we’re building a stronger, more knowledgeable primary care team ready to tackle cardiovascular risk effectively.

In secondary care, my role focuses on managing triage referrals to ensure that only necessary cases come through to consultants. This work has already made a huge impact – I’ve filtered out 22 per cent of referrals from primary care and the waiting list has reduced by around 50 per cent (from 72 weeks to 31 weeks). By screening and redirecting referrals where possible, we’ve reduced unnecessary appointments and given consultants more capacity to see high-risk patients sooner, lowering their chances of emergency visits or severe cardiac events. The feedback has been incredibly positive, with appointment teams seeing real improvements in patient care and service efficiency across south east London.

Developing clinical expertise for better CVD prevention

The CVD Prevention Fellowship was instrumental in giving me the confidence to apply for my current role as a Cardiovascular (Lipid) Specialist Pharmacist. Through the Fellowship, I not only gained essential skills in cardiorenal metabolic health but also had the opportunity to meet experts from across south London, building a network I can rely on to this day. This network means that if I encounter a particularly challenging case, I know exactly who to reach out to for guidance. The connections I made across different boroughs have been invaluable, particularly as we work together to reduce CVD risk at a population level. Knowing that I had a strong foundation and people to support me gave me the self-assurance I needed to step into this new role.

One of the most impactful lessons I brought back from the Fellowship was in quality improvement. Learning how to analyse and reflect on existing processes and to compare them with what’s working well in other regions has fundamentally shaped my approach to problem solving in my day-to-day work. The programme also taught me how to deliver concise, targeted presentations, ensuring that when I’m training or supporting other clinicians, the information is practical and fits their busy schedules. This experience also sparked my curiosity beyond lipids, encouraging me to keep learning across related areas. I would wholeheartedly recommend the Fellowship to others, and encouraged the other two successful Specialist Pharmacists to apply so that they can benefit from the same skills, confidence, and network that have been so valuable in my own journey.

Get in touch

Find out more about our projects and programmes in CVD prevention.

Company spotlight: Anagram

Published on September 16, 2024 and last updated on September 16, 2024 by Tash Hadley

The first in our series of company spotlights, we are proud to introduce you to Anagram. Anagram have developed a therapeutic mental health XR solution known as "Inside Mental Health," a unique, immersive empathetic training programme for a series of mental health issues. The Health Innovation Network South London will be supporting this project as part of our delivery of the Mindset-XR Innovation Support Programme for Innovate UK.

Lord Darzi's report on the state of the National Health Service in England repeatedly highlighted that there is an urgent need to address the mental health crisis, and with 1 in 6 people in England experiencing a mental health problem in a given week, this report could not be more timely. It also reveals how this is costing the NHS the equivalent of one month per person per year for key roles, with mental health cited as the most common reason for absence.

Therapeutic mental health XR solutions can help, but research also suggests that effective simulation tools for empathy can help with burnout in medical professionals. Guided by an Advisory Panel of experts and in partnership with the NHS and the University of the West of England, Anagram has developed "Inside Mental Health" a unique, immersive empathetic training programme for a series of mental health issues. Combining the award-winning studio’s Emmy-nominated Playing With Reality XR series with facilitated learning sessions designed and led by healthcare professionals, Inside Mental Health centres lived experience stories in training in a completely new way.

Inside Mental Health begins with bespoke onboarding, designed for users both new to XR and those more familiar with it, and sets the scene for the Playing with Reality series, which uses a documentary storytelling approach to combine rigorous research with compelling narratives around mental health conditions. The ﬁrst Inside Mental Health episode is focused on psychosis, centred around Goliath: Playing with Reality, which tells the story of one man’s experience of receiving a psychosis diagnosis and his journey through the healthcare system. This will be followed in 2025 by the second instalment in the series, Impulse, which explores the complexities of ADHD through mixed reality. Fresh from its Venice Immersive Achievement Award win at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, Impulse will be adapted for Inside Mental Health in the coming months.

Following the XR experience, participants are taken through a guided debrief session which has been designed in consultation with the NHS. Sean Carroll, Business Development Manager at Anagram added, “The Mindset XR programme has allowed us to work closely with the NHS and Higher Education partners to look not only at what we’re delivering but also how.” Rather than simply presenting the Playing with Reality series as is, Anagram have developed Inside Mental Health as a group experience, based on simulation training principles. Sean highlights the true value of these debrief sessions as “they allow participants to reﬂect not just on Golaith’s story, but also to share their own. It is through connecting the lived experience stories to people’s own experiences that we build compassion and reduce stigma.”

Incorporating content from Goliath, Inside Mental Health has already supported nurse training at the School of Health and Social Wellbeing at the University of the West of England. Lucy Watkins, Associate Director, School of Health and Social Wellbeing, at the University of the West of England, noted that “Anagram really understands how to use VR meaningfully in learning” and “working with them brought value, signiﬁcance and impact to our teaching.”

The next step for Inside Mental Health is a series of pilots across the NHS and Higher Education, which will be supported by a series of research projects. This includes a research project with the University of the West of England, our partners on the Mindset XR programme. Alongside this Anagram will begin work adapting the Impulse: Playing with Reality experience, bringing the ADHD lived experience to a wider audience.

The UK premiere of Impulse: Playing with Reality will be taking place at the London Film Festival between 11-27 October with tickets available for purchase here.

Find out more

To ﬁnd out more about Inside Mental Health, including all pilot schemes, research and customer queries, please get in touch.

The potential of digital transformation and enhancing NHS implementation readiness

Published on August 20, 2024 and last updated on August 29, 2024 by Tash Hadley

At the recent Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference, our Chief Executive Dr Rishi Das-Gupta hosted a panel featuring Luke Readman, Regional Director of Digital Transformation, NHS England (London), Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director & Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS England (London), and Joe Harrison, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director, Digital Channels, NHS England. This panel delved into the transformative potential of digital innovations in the NHS, focusing specifically on the challenges and processes involved in implementing these innovations. In this blog, our External Marketing Communications Officer Michael Mbanunu reflects on his insights learnt during the panel and discusses ways to enhance NHS implementation readiness.

Understanding the current challenges within the NHS

Since the pandemic, the NHS has been under immense pressure with increasing demands and staff shortages leading to an upsurge in workload stress. Many clinicians are faced with heavy administrative tasks, contributing to burnout, which then impacts on patient care. Additionally, the growing elective backlog has resulted in longer waiting times for patients and led to the NHS announcing its Elective Recovery Plan, aimed at reducing the waiting list, improving patient outcomes, and investing in digital innovations.

Digital transformation reshaping the health and care sector

In this context digital transformation can offer significant benefits to both NHS staff and patients. Digital innovations can provide patients with online access to healthcare, giving them greater convenience and control over their health. These tools will also free up staff time, allowing time for more face-to-face care, particularly with digitally excluded patients. During the panel talk it was discussed that digital tools have the potential to reshape health care delivery, including AI tools that are currently being evaluated which can forecast A&E attendance weeks in advance, in order to help NHS staff allocate resources more effectively. There are also other exciting advancements with other AI tools which could assist patients in deciding whether they need to visit an emergency department or a GP, thus freeing up clinicians' time for urgent cases.

“Through digital transformation, we’re able to save time and money while reducing GP workload. We aim to have one-third of NHS citizens accessing healthcare digitally within the next five years.” Joe Harrison, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director, Digital Channels, NHS England

Navigating the innovation landscape

One of the biggest barriers to innovation is the NHS's risk appetite to implementing technology. The NHS is naturally cautious, striving for high standards of evidence to ensure optimal patient care. This often involves rigorous evaluation and study, which can take 2-3 years, by which time the technology may be outdated. However, the risks of not adopting new technology now seem to outweigh the risks associated with innovation. At the HIN South London, we are uniquely positioned to provide support for the rapid uptake of various innovative products through our Accelerated Access Collaborative Innovation Programme, increasing the spread of innovative ideas and technologies in line with local population needs.

“Some people are cautious around the word 'productivity,' but we need a different appetite for risk around innovation. The harm of moving slowly is more dangerous than moving quickly and can benefit more people.” Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director and Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS England (London)

Scaling innovation and improving care in the NHS

The pandemic demonstrated that we could rapidly embrace innovation, where the NHS quickly integrated telemedicine, electronic health records, and AI-driven tools for remote monitoring. However, the main challenge is figuring out how to support the humans using the tools to make decisions quickly and effectively. We need to emphasize decision-making that is fast and flexible while still being accountable.

During the conference we were introduced to an AI innovation which TORTUS had implemented into Great Ormond Street Hospital and seen the benefits of. TORTUS uses ambient voice technology to transcribe doctor-patient consultations to produce a near real-time note for the patient record. The innovation reduces consultation times by approximately 23 per cent, increasing satisfaction for both families and consultants.

“Our challenge lies not in the technology itself, but in making the right choices and collaborating effectively to scale personalised, effective care across London and beyond.” Luke Readman, Regional Director of Digital Transformation, NHS England (London)

Key learnings from the panel on solutions for readiness

User-centred design
Engaging with service users from the start helps co-design development, spot issues early, and learn lessons from initial adoptions. This approach ensures that by the time innovation is implemented, potential problems have already been addressed.
Piloting innovations
Testing innovations on a smaller scale before full-scale implementation reduces the risk of failure. Starting small allows for adjustments based on initial feedback.
Investing in staff training
Ensuring that the workforce is capable of effectively using new technologies is crucial. Identifying training needs and addressing them can help staff utilise innovations to support patient care better.

Digital innovations can empower patients by providing convenient, home-based access to care and improve clinicians' well-being by reducing administrative workloads and aiding better planning. Additionally, innovations can help reduce the elective backlog, allowing more patients to be seen sooner. By fostering a culture of innovation and implementing robust evaluation processes, the NHS can ensure exceptional health and care for the wider system.

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If you want to find out more about the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference or about our work across digital transformation projects, please get in touch.

The NHS App and how it is scaling personalised and effective care

Published on August 20, 2024 and last updated on August 29, 2024 by Tash Hadley

The NHS App is a digital front door to the NHS, enabling access, improving outcomes and efficiency of services. Recent enhancements have led to a boost in usage, as people are learning and appreciating that there is more it can do to help them manage their health. By May 2024, interactions went to 34.5 million, with one in six citizens actively logging in. These improvements, driven by new functionalities tailored to user needs, are beginning to shift perceptions, making the App increasingly valuable for managing personal health.

However, the NHS App is still evolving and there is more functionality being developed. Since January 2023, this has been led by Joe Harrison, Chief Executive at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director of Digital Channels at NHS England. In this article, Dr Amanda Begley, Director of Digital and Transformation and Anna King, Commercial Director, at the HIN South London examine the current state of the NHS App and discuss the role of collaboration in scaling personalised and effective care. They highlight the progress made and discuss future opportunities for enhancing the App’s impact on people’s health and healthcare delivery.

Moving towards patient-led digital services

At the recent Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference, Joe led a conversation on the national landscape of NHS digitisation and the potential of the NHS App. Patient-led digital services, such as the NHS App, are revolutionising the efficiency and effectiveness of the healthcare system. The App has significantly streamlined processes like repeat prescriptions, handling approximately 4 million requests monthly out of a total of 26 million. Each prescription ordered through the App saves around three minutes of GP time, which is crucial for optimising clinical resources and reducing administrative burdens. The forthcoming addition of medical records to the App has already resulted in over 18 million logins in between May and June 2024, indicating a substantial demand for digital access to personal health information.

The App also enhances appointment adherence, with patients who book their own appointments being more likely to attend than those arranged by their service provider, further supporting proactive healthcare management. Similarly, using the NHS App for 111 services is seeing improvements in accuracy of triage over the telephone service hopefully leading to improved outcomes, whilst also being nine times more cost-effective for the NHS and four times faster for users, relieving pressure on non-digital service channels.

“The aim is to have a third of all citizen interactions with the NHS being digital in the next five years, but we think this could happen even sooner than that.” Joe Harrison, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director of Digital Channels, NHS England

Collaborating to scale effective care

As we move towards 2025, scaling the functionality of the NHS App across the country becomes a priority in achieving more personalised and effective care. Recent developments indicate that 90 per cent of GP practices have now made medical records accessible through the App, reflecting a significant enhancement in digital health infrastructure and meeting targets set out in the NHS delivery plan. However, the journey towards widespread adoption is not without challenges. Some organisations remain sceptical about the NHS App’s potential to meet their local needs, opting instead to develop and rely on bespoke local apps. To address this, it is crucial to foster collaboration across NHS systems and integrate feedback from diverse stakeholders. The integration of local innovations with the national platform can help align regional practices with broader NHS goals, such as the NHS App roadmap, ensuring that the App evolves in tandem with the needs of both patients and healthcare providers.

“At the HIN we support innovators, both within the NHS and commercially, so we are keen to see an increase in the pace and scale of third-party applications integrating with the NHS App, as it will help it become an even more useful tool for patients and health professionals.” Anna King, Commercial Director, Health Innovation Network South London

Using patient insights to shape functionality

Incorporating patient insights into the development of the NHS App is essential for optimising its functionality and ensuring it meets user needs effectively. The recent report on patient perspectives of digital access to primary care, led by Amanda Begley, demonstrates the critical role of aligning digital health solutions with patient feedback. Patients have expressed a strong preference for accessible and user-friendly digital tools that facilitate better management of their health. By utilising these insights, the NHS App can be refined to enhance user experience and thereby encourage the spread of the App across the country.

The report indicated that patients have a strong desire for digital tools that offer seamless access to their health information and facilitate more proactive management of their care. The report highlighted that users value functionalities such as viewing medical records, managing appointments, and handling repeat prescriptions directly through the App. The findings emphasise the importance of a user-friendly interface. Patients expressed concerns about the complexity of existing digital platforms and the need for simpler, more intuitive designs that cater to a diverse range of users, including those with limited digital literacy.

Integrating patient feedback helps to align digital innovations with broader healthcare objectives and supports improvements already being delivered in the App, fostering a more cohesive system.

“Understanding what matters to people and listening to their feedback on the App is crucial because a tool that’s accessible and delivers value will be adopted. Through widespread adoption we can deliver improved outcomes and efficiencies for the health system.” Dr Amanda Begley, Director of Digital and Transformation, Health Innovation Network South London

Conclusion

The NHS App is making great progress to increase usage by delivering what the public needs in terms of a ‘digital front-door’ to access prescriptions, health records and 111 advice. There is scope to make it even better, through the roadmap to add even more functionality and increase the services available through it. Collaboration across NHS systems, informed by patient perspectives, can drive adoption and utilisation, ultimately enhancing overall healthcare delivery and efficiency. By integrating local innovations with the national platform, the NHS App can better align with the varied needs of patients and healthcare providers alike. This collective approach, combined with insights from patients, will ensure that digital solutions remain responsive and relevant allowing the NHS App to become an core part of the healthcare system, delivering more personalised and effective care across the country.

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If you would like to find out more about our digital and transformation projects, please get in touch.

Transforming healthcare through technology: Insights from the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference

Published on July 24, 2024 and last updated on July 30, 2024 by Tash Hadley

People sitting in a lecture theatre concentrating

More than 200 innovators, entrepreneurs, clinicians and public sector staff came together for the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference. Brought together by South East London (SEL) ICB, South West London (SWL) ICB and the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, and sponsored by Accenture, The Access Group, Bayer, BT Group PLC, Cisco, DAC Beachcroft LLP, First Databank UK Ltd and PA Consulting, it showcased a myriad of innovations aimed at demonstrating how innovation can improve patient care, productivity and prevention. Here Philippa Kirkpatrick, Chief Digital Information Officer at SEL ICB, Martin Ellis, Chief Digital Information Officer at SWL ICB and Anna King, Commercial Director at the HIN delve into three key themes highlighted at the event: improving patient experience, boosting staff experience, and encouraging healthier lifestyles through technology.

NHS challenges are well documented, but the innovation community holds the keys to a healthier, more connected future. The NHS is ready to embrace innovation, and we have a great opportunity to harness the transformative power of technology to improve healthcare delivery, empower patients and develop a health and care system where everyone has the opportunity for a healthy, fulfilling life. The Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference provided a space not just to inspire, but to provide practical information to address the challenges we face.

Funding for health and social care is limited; innovation and technology-enabled transformation are key for helping us to deliver better care to more people using the resources we have available. We are working hard improve the speed at which ideas can move through trial and into commission. So, what can we do now with technology to close that gap, use technology for proactive and anticipatory healthcare and to allow the NHS staff provide better care easily?

At our event we brought together south London, pan-London and national experts to showcase the areas they were working on, and some key themes emerged.

Enhancing patient experience with technology

Joe Harrison, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director, Digital Channels, NHS England gave delegates an inspiring update about the NHS App. The App is a key part of how patients are being enabled to manage their own care, including by letting them easily order repeat prescriptions which saves GPs three minutes each time. Those three minutes make a real difference when four million repeat prescriptions a month are ordered on the App (and that number is going up!).

Joe had been told by people within the system that people did not want the functionality to view medical records on the App, and yet over 18 million people logged in last month to view them. The analogy Joe used was being told by your bank you can't have your balance immediately but they'll send you a letter with the information instead. Ultimately, patient expectations have moved on because of the digital world we all live in, and we need to be reflecting the reality of 2024 rather than 2004.

Using NHS 111 was another example. If people use 111 Online on the NHS App rather than calling 111 it is nine times cheaper for the NHS, four times quicker for the citizen and in turn that frees up time on the telephone for people who cannot use digital. The message was clear – we don’t need to force everyone to go digital for everyone to benefit.

Joe Harrison presenting at the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference

Joe Harrison, Chief Executive, Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and National Director, Digital Channels, NHS England

Dominic Pimenta presenting at the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference

Dominic Pimenta, CEO, Tortus

Boosting staff experience and productivity

There was a glimpse into some amazing tech that was already making a difference to staff and patients - Ambient Voice Technology (AVT), a form of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Audience members were reminded they probably already had a form of voice-enabled AI in their homes – whether Alexa, Google Home or another device. Consumer technology is of course easier to implement, but it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that AI-enabled technology such as AVT is actually starting to be used out in the “real world” of health and care.

What AVT does is listens in to doctor/patient conversations (with patient permission) and then produces a near real-time note for the patient record which is checked by the clinician before saving. After checking that the notes are correct, the technology can also interact with clinical systems to automate some routine tasks such as ordering blood tests.

Delegates at the event heard from GPs, project managers and innovators about early experiences with AVT in real services. Dominic Pimenta of TORTUS described their ambition of a “triple win” of patients having more time with doctors, doctors having less time focused on inputting data, and systems receiving more consistent data.

Although the technology is still rapidly evolving, there seems to be growing evidence that AVT is starting to deliver against these goals. Savings of a few minutes per consultation over a week might end up meaning two hours of family time reinstated at a weekend; unsurprisingly, patients appear to value doctors who can give them their full attention rather than turning away to a computer screen at a crucial moment.

Such is the excitement around the possibility of this technology, which the HIN held an innovation exchange on last year, bringing together industry partners, clinicians and patients to understand the "art of the possible" and articulate the hopes and challenges around AVT.

Connecting care outside of hospitals to promote healthier lifestyles through technology

Discussions throughout the day highlighted the role innovation and technology could play by focusing more on prevention and keeping people well.

Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director & Chief Clinical Information Officer at NHS England (London) admitted that the focus had traditionally been on hospital care - his view was that health services had to shift upstream into prevention and better management of people with long-term conditions, so people don't get sick, get less sick and be cared for closer to their homes. Embracing digital innovation is crucial for the management of at-risk people and will reduce the likelihood of hospital admissions. Remote monitoring offers patients the opportunity to have real-time access to medical advice and allows healthcare providers to detect signs and symptoms early, adjust treatments promptly, and offer personalised care plans.

For innovation of this scale to take place, patient data will have to be accessible in different parts of the NHS. In his presentation on joining up data, Luke Readman, Regional Director of Digital Transformation, NHS England (London) informed delegates that 20-30% of the care people receive is in a different ICS to the one in which they reside – meaning that our NHS geography is artificial to most people's lives. For him adoption at scale was hard but important and he reiterated that the technology can be put in place, but in order to make a difference, systems need to collaborate to scale personalised and effective care.

Luke Readman presenting at the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference

Luke Readman, Regional Director of Digital Transformation, NHS England (London)

Emily Henderson presenting at the Health Tech and South London Digital Innovation Conference

Emily Henderson, Director of Innovation at NHS England

Conclusion

The day finished with delegates hearing from Emily Henderson, Director of Innovation at NHS England. She was clear that she wants to create the environment in which new innovation can be built and scaled within the NHS. The event had helped her understand the incredible work that is already happening, and what needs to change. Her view was that Health Innovation Networks were critical to supporting innovation to be adopted, helping to understand how national aims related to local needs.

We felt the event showcased the great work in south London and that as we continue to innovate and integrate technologies into our healthcare systems, we move closer to a future where healthcare is more efficient, effective, and accessible for all. By embracing these innovations, we can improve the quality of care, enhance the well-being of healthcare professionals, and empower individuals to lead healthier lives.

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If you missed the event and would like to discuss any of the issues raised further, or hear more about the trailblazing work taken place in south London please contact us.

Reducing access inequalities in Bexley to cost-effective healthcare innovations that reduce cardiovascular-related events

Published on April 18, 2024 and last updated on May 24, 2024 by Tash Hadley

Post Title

Under the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme we have piloted a community lipid management hub in Bexley to help tackle cardiovascular disease in south London. In this blog we hear from the team who supported the pilot as they explore the changes the pilot has made since its launch.

The Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme (InHIP) aims to reduce healthcare inequalities by improving access to proven healthcare innovations for the under-served populations in the Core20PLUS5 strategy. Data from national primary care audit ‘CVDPREVENT’ showed Bexley patients as having comparatively poor access to lipid lowering therapies, with particular inequalities in certain ethnic, gender and age groups; increasing the likelihood of cardiovascular events, like heart attack or stroke, in these populations.

One of south London’s InHIP projects is piloting a pharmacist-led community lipid management hub, for cardiovascular disease prevention, in Clocktower Primary Care Network (PCN), Bexley, which launched in July 2023. In this blog, we hear from Abi (Bexley GP Federation’s Chief Operating Officer), Dee (Clinical Services Coordinator), Aneal (Specialist Pharmacist in the lipids clinic), Rachel (Senior Cardiovascular Disease Pharmacist) and Margaret (HIN Project Manager) as they discuss how the new service is making positive changes to the way cardiovascular care is delivered in south London.

Impact

Margaret

The clinic has seen 70 patients in its first six months, with 80 more expected through the pilot. Due to the high-risk profile of this patient group, an estimated 8+ cardiovascular events could be prevented through the pilot period alone.

Aneal

Having 30-minute patient consultations in the Bexley Community Lipids Hub has transformed the way care is delivered, in a way which is not always possible in general primary care settings. There’s more time to discuss the patient’s symptoms and medication in detail and they can be closely monitored. We’re often told by patients that the specialist pharmacist is the first clinician who’s discussed test results in depth with them and made sense of the numbers. In a general practice consultation this might not always happen due to the amount of time clinicians have with patients.

Success stories:

A patient with raised cholesterol started inclisiran and made dietary changes leading to a significant reduction after 3 months.
A patient with a history of heart attacks had never taken cholesterol lowering medication (statins) due to bad press reports. During two appointments they learnt about the benefits of statins and has now been taking them without any side effects and is happy with their progress.

Setting up the clinic

Abi & Dee

Clocktower PCN actively invested in the new Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) and upskilled staff such as pharmacists, to become specialised in a number of areas including lipid management optimisation and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction. We saw the Bexley Community Lipids Hub, known locally as ‘Protect Your Heart’, as a good opportunity for these staff to utilise their extended skills and knowledge in a new way.

The aim of the Bexley Community Lipids Hub was to improve access for high cardiovascular risk patients to interventions to reduce their risk of a heart attack or stroke through shared decision making. This project was co-produced by Bexley Health Neighbourhood Care, the GP Federation, Clocktower PCN and the Health Innovation Network South London, with support from the local medicines management team. Through a collaborative working approach, we have piloted a service reviewed by all partners involved that has allowed us to deliver the agreed outcomes and share learning for future sustainable models of care to protect patients in SEL from CVD.

Aneal

During consultations we discuss options with patients to optimise lipid management treatment plans. Using the Vital 5* approach it is also possible to create a list of suggestions on other patient-specific areas of focus or co-morbidities for the patient to discuss with their GP, social prescriber or community support groups. We can detail this intervention in the patient’s notes and send text messages to their GP for information to support the ongoing improvement of the patient’s treatment. Collaborative working between the pharmacists running the service, the patient and other healthcare professionals can really enhance the care a patient receives, and hopefully services similar to this can be adopted in other south London areas.

Lead Pharmacist Anneal sitting at desk in the Bexley Lipids Hub

Addressing inequalities

Aneal

The care provided under the clinic is flexible and is tailored to each person. There have been instances where patients on the clinic list have refused an appointment because they are housebound or are caring for others. We can follow up with these patients via a telephone appointment instead and liaise with district nursing services to provide any further care that is needed. We offer individualised care and it’s fantastic seeing the difference this makes for patients.

Abi & Dee

For the lipid hub, we have provided enhanced administrative time, compared to other services, recognising the person-centred care that is required for this patient group. The team contact all patients by phone call to book them into the clinic and will also administer calls to check people have had their blood tests or arrange follow up appointments. People using the service are often elderly and require more time on the phone, or in other cases, won’t have a mobile phone and therefore will need letters sent to them. Delivering more holistic care does demand more of your time but it is incredibly rewarding seeing positive outcomes being achieved in people’s health.

We have received fantastic feedback and engagement from people attending the service. In a survey we found out that 32 out of 34 respondents would recommend the clinic. Patients fed back that they felt listened to, reassured and that explanations of next steps were clear.

Looking forwards

Abi & Dee

As this is one of the first clinics of its kind it is inevitable that we’ll experience some issues whilst delivering the service. However, by our service experiencing it first it means that the issues can be addressed before clinics are adopted in other south London areas and care can be delivered faster to people who require this enhanced service.

Margaret

The learning gained through this project has informed the set up and delivery of two further community hubs, one in Lewisham and one in Greenwich. This has assisted a more rapid implementation, especially as clinical pathways, governance issues and the patient intervention and engagement have already been trialled in Bexley.

Aneal

This clinic was set up with the focus primarily of tackling health inequalities in cardiovascular care and it is important for any health care professional involved in facilitating a new service to be clear on what the set objectives are. In this service we need to make sure the pharmacists are recognised for their expertise and support them with sharing any lessons they have learnt with GPs and wider practice staff. For example if a GP has told the patient their cholesterol is fine but it’s not for this particular patient then not being afraid to go back and discuss it further and encourage the patient to take action.

Rachel

This community hub has been a great example of how primary care healthcare professionals, specialists working in secondary care, management and administrative support can work together to make every contact count for our local populations. Patients have had the time to discuss and reflect on many aspects of their health and can leave the service feeling more empowered to take holistic actions to improve their cardiovascular risk and overall wellbeing. Six patients have been referred to secondary care lipid specialists for potential Familial Hypercholesterolemia, while their CVD risk and lipid management is optimised by interventions made via the hub.

The insights gathered from this service, along with its outcomes, are being shared throughout south London and beyond at a national level. Specifically, the advantages of incorporating the Vital 5* approach in all patient assessments are being promoted to mitigate adverse health effects and enhance wellbeing and motivation through collaborative decision making processes.

*Vital 5 - the 5 leading causes of poor health in our local communities: high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, alcohol and common mental health conditions. The clinic also checked for pre-diabetes and uncontrolled diabetes as an additional risk factor for CVD supporting the population health needs for diabetes awareness and management.

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For more information about the Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme and how we are improving access to healthcare innovations, please get in touch.

Earlier, faster and more equitable: how innovation is helping the NHS improve cancer diagnosis and treatment pathways

Published on April 8, 2024 and last updated on May 1, 2024 by Tash Hadley

Post Title

One in every two people in England will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives. Medical innovation has driven huge improvements in cancer outcomes; thanks to advances in treatments, diagnostic techniques and screening, survival rates have doubled in the past 50 years. However, with a growing and aging population, using innovation to detect cancers earlier and ensuring treatment is as effective as possible, remains an important point of focus for the NHS.

In England, many of the system’s cancer priorities were set out in the NHS Long Term Plan in 2019. These include:

Ensuring that 75% of people with cancer are diagnosed in the early stages of the disease by 2028.
Addressing health inequalities in terms of early diagnosis and screening.
Ensuring patients are treated within 62 days of self-referral.
Implementing comprehensive screening for breast, bowel and cervical cancer.

In south east London, additional priorities can include improving processes and efficiency in cancer data and pathway management to enable smarter work flows. Or, improving the early identification of cancers through screening and diagnostics, with a particular focus on individuals at risk of health inequalities such as people from more deprived areas.

Addressing the challenges of cancer complexity through technology

As with many areas of health and care, the cancer system has grown to be highly complex, with many interdependencies and interfaces between radiology, pathology and across other services.

In particular, the timely treatment of suspected cancer cases often rests on effective coordination between primary and secondary care –which requires appropriate and timely referrals. This then followed through with an effective booking and triaging once to manage patient flow and ensure the patient receives the correct treatment.

Used effectively, technology offers the promise of reducing some of the complexity associated with managing cancer pathways and improving both staff and patient experience. Broadly speaking, many digital innovations which seem to offer the most benefits can be grouped into two categories:

Innovations designed to help improve early diagnosis or detection. These innovations use technology such as AI to identify the groups of patients at highest risks of cancer, improve the accuracy of screening or diagnostic processes, or provide easier or more equitable access to diagnostic tests (e.g. through the use of teledermatology to identify possible skin cancers).
Process automation innovations. These innovations reduce the administrative workload on the cancer workforce by automating repetitive processes and free up clinical time to spend on patient care or more complex tasks. These technologies can also reduce waiting times by removing processing bottlenecks in the system, such as those which can occur as patients are referred from primary to secondary care.

Many recent digital innovations are already seeking to make an impact to cancer pathways; some examples include:

Blinx – providing digital technologies to give clinicians more time to care for patients and to make strategic and operational improvements in their processes.
Blue Prism – a cloud-based solution that creates an AI digital workforce for robotic process automation.
Deontics – utilising advanced technology to streamline clinical pathways, standardise healthcare treatment for patients, and reduce decision-to-treatment wait times.
Colonflag – a web-based machine learning algorithm designed to help identify individuals aged 40 years or older who are at high risk of having colorectal cancer.
Kheiron Medical – Mia, an AI platform supporting radiologists in making the breast screening decisions, to recall or not recall.

With clear targets for cancer performance at both national and regional levels, successful innovations need to be able to demonstrate tangible impact in one or more key performance indicators. Other important considerations for successful spread and adoption include ease of implementation/integration and patient and staff experience.

The role of the Health Innovation Network South London

The Health Innovation Network South London has extensive experience supporting innovations across a wider range of clinical areas, including cancer. Through our DigitalHealth.London programmes, we have worked with some of the capital’s most promising cancer tech companies, helping great ideas to achieve real-world impact.

We also work with systems and services to evaluate, understand and implement cancer innovations. With the speed of progress in many areas of digital innovation, such as AI being extremely high and a workforce busy with operational pressures, we can provide specialist support to identify innovation opportunities and overcome challenges to make the most of technology. We have recently collaborated with the South East London Cancer Alliance (SELCA) and its clinical and cancer management networks on a number of innovation areas including exploring the opportunities of automation, needs articulation, horizon scanning and supporting the evaluation of local innovation projects.

“It’s been fantastic to work in collaboration with the HIN to identify potential digital solutions for challenges faced by cancer services. Our expertise in cancer pathway improvement combined with the HIN’s experience of embedding digital innovations across the NHS, will help us to explore innovative ways to transform our local cancer care services and improve patient experiences.”
Smitha Nathan, Associate Director, South East London Cancer Alliance

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Empowering Digital Transformation graduates: The Journey of Graduates into Health

Published on April 3, 2024 by Tash Hadley

Post Title

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London has been running the flagship Graduates into Health programme since 2018. Over the past six years the programme has recruited graduates and early careers professionals from across the UK and internationally to fill digital, data and technology roles throughout England.

The programme, funded by NHS England, closed on 31 March 2024. In this co-authored blog we hear from Head of Service Louise Brennan, Engagement Lead Project Manager Karniya Yoganathan and Pastoral Support Lead Charlotte Gallagher as they reflect on the successes of the programme sourcing new talent to drive innovation in healthcare.

Louise

In my position as the Head of Service for the Graduates into Health programme, I’ve led a journey of significant transformation over the past six years. Our main aim has been to pioneer a programme that not only meets the growing digital needs of the NHS but also nurtures fresh talent to drive innovation in healthcare.

Our journey began in 2018 with a vision to bridge the gap between the increasing demand for digital skills in healthcare and the availability of skilled professionals within the NHS. Starting at a local level, we worked to expand our initiative into a national programme, supporting over 240 graduates in securing vital roles in Digital, Data, and Technology (DDaT) within the NHS.

One of my proudest achievements has been the establishment of the first-ever graduate DDaT programme within the NHS. Prior to this, similar programmes were either found in the private sector or delivered fast-track graduates into leadership positions. Recognising the crucial need for digital expertise in middle-management public healthcare, we embarked on a mission to fill this gap.

Our programme not only addressed a critical need but also gained support from NHS managers seeking to enhance their teams with fresh talent. Through careful recruitment and rigorous training, our graduates demonstrated their skills, earning praise for their proficiency and adaptability. This success led to repeat requests from managers, solidifying our programme’s reputation as a valuable asset to NHS organisations across the country.

Our expansion from London to regions nationwide highlights the scalability and impact of our initiative. By aligning with key NHS priorities around digital transformation and workforce planning, such as the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, we’ve contributed to modernising healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes.

Ultimately, the impact of our programme is seen in the tangible improvements observed in organisations undergoing digital transformation. By empowering a new generation of digital graduates, we’ve not only addressed immediate workforce needs but also laid the groundwork for a more resilient and innovative NHS ready to meet the evolving challenges of healthcare delivery in the digital age.

“We often struggled to get suitable candidates and so a typical recruitment would take far longer than 6-8 weeks because we’d have to go out again and again. We recruited for one position through the Graduates into Health programme and were so impressed with the quality of the candidates that we ended up taking two!”NHS Informatics Merseyside Software Developer Manager

Karniya

Working as the Engagement Lead Project Manager for the Graduates into Health programme, I supported the overall programme delivery and oversaw tasks including trust engagement, pastoral care and mentorship activities. As the programme nears its end, I take pride in reflecting on our achievements.

A significant aspect of our success lies in our ability to achieve diversity and retention goals. The Graduates into Health programme has prioritised inclusivity, with 57 per cent of participants coming from ethnic minority backgrounds and 44 per cent identifying as female. This commitment to diversity has contributed to our impressive 91 per cent retention rate, showing that the programme effectively supports career advancement within the NHS.

One notable accomplishment is our contribution to bridging the NHS’s skills gap which was particularly evident in our efforts in to recruit in rural areas. An example of this was our successful recruitment of twelve Band 6 configuration analyst graduates to contribute their skills to the implementation of North Devon Health Care Trust’s ‘My Care’ Epic Electronic Patient Record Programme. Positive feedback from these placements highlights the effectiveness of our thorough recruitment processes, which assessed graduates’ technical abilities through various tests.

I take great pride in the gender diversity of our programme participants. By empowering women from diverse backgrounds, including those returning to work, the Graduates into Health programme aligns with the NHS’s commitment to fostering an inclusive and gender-equal workforce. This diversity enriches the healthcare sector by bringing different perspectives and skills to the table, ultimately improving patient-centred care delivery.

As we near the end of this programme, I want to express how the Graduates into Health programme has not only provided valuable career opportunities for graduates but has also addressed important skill shortages and diversity issues within the NHS.

Charlotte

In my position I had the privilege of providing individual pastoral support to 130 graduates over the past year as they transition into DDaT roles within the NHS. Our focus has been on providing tailored support to help these individuals navigate the complexities of starting their careers in healthcare.

Central to my responsibilities has been offering personalised guidance to graduates, particularly concerning their well-being and professional development. Through regular conversations, I’ve witnessed their progress and celebrated their achievements as they overcome challenges and take steps forward in their careers.

Embracing a graduate-centred approach, I’ve actively sought feedback from graduates, leading to the implementation of various support mechanisms such as newsletters and networking events. The aim was to keep graduates informed about opportunities within the NHS and foster a sense of community among them.

Feedback from graduates highlights the significance of our support in helping them secure positions within the NHS, even in the face of competition from the private sector. My role has also involved identifying and addressing individual barriers to career advancement, whether they be related to training, working within the NHS, or personal well-being.

As the Graduates into Health programme draws to a close, I’m gratified by the impact our efforts have had in nurturing the talents of these graduates and contributing to the strength of the healthcare workforce. It’s been a fulfilling journey, and I’m thankful for the opportunity to have played a part in their growth and success.

Find out more on the Graduates into Health programme’s success below.

Applications are open for the 2024 Cardiometabolic Fellowship Programme

Published on March 12, 2024 and last updated on April 26, 2024 by Tash Hadley

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London is launching its third Cardiometabolic Fellowship (formerly Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Fellowship). The programme will now assist primary care clinicians develop clinical skills and knowledge in diabetes and mental health care along with cardiovascular disease prevention to help improve outcomes for patients across south London.

Applications to this Fellowship have now closed.

With six million people living with CVD in England with a combined cost of £16 billion every year, improving outcomes for at risk patients is an NHS priority. This programme will help to speed up the adoption of innovative initiatives to help prevent CVD across south London.

This free programme builds on our last two successful Fellowships and is aimed at all health care professionals working in primary care or community pharmacy in south London. The Fellowship aligns to local priorities and supports practices and primary care networks (PCNs) in meeting their Quality and Outcomes Framework targets, reducing health inequalities, and reducing risk to your patients.

“I appreciate the support and guidance I have received throughout the fellowship. Being a part of this program has been an enriching experience, and I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to improving care for the CVD patient population.”Participant from 2023 CVD Prevention Fellowship.

What does the fellowship involve?

The Fellowship Programme is Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited and will provide free expert clinical advice and quality improvement support to help Fellows become CVD prevention, mental health and diabetes care champions. It will also help Fellows to deliver a quality improvement project focused on CVD or diabetes in their practice or PCN. You can see examples of 2023 projects here.

Running from April 2024 to November 2024, the Fellowship will consist of:

7 clinical webinars led by experts in a range of areas including lipid management, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, chronic kidney disease, heart failure, mental health and diabetes.
An in-person training day to help develop your quality improvement skills on Friday 26 April 2024. Attendance at this day is a requirement of the Fellowship.
Ongoing peer and expert sessions to support you in delivering your project, which will run May to October 2024.
A final in person event in to celebrate the work of the Fellowship on Friday 22 November 2024.

Find out more

For more information on the Cardiometabolic Fellowship please get in touch.

Up to 3 out of 4 Londoners now using digital tools to interact with their GP surgery

Published on January 26, 2024 by Tash Hadley

Results from a new report from the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London and NHS England (London) Digital First team indicate that up to three quarters of Londoners have used online consultation forms, the NHS App and GP surgery websites to access primary care services.

More than 3,000 patients from across London contributed to the report by completing an online survey or participating in focus groups. The report indicated that most people found these digital tools beneficial as they allowed them to complete key tasks related to managing their healthcare more independently.

Whilst most patients who responded found the three digital tools easy and convenient to use, the report also highlighted variation across London, with some patients reporting challenges with accessibility and availability of certain features. For example, 43% were not able to book a routine GP appointment online and almost a third did not have full access to their medical records via the NHS App.

The report also highlighted the importance of continuing to tackle the root causes of digital exclusion, acknowledging that some groups underserved by digital technologies may still be underrepresented in this type of research.

Usage of key digital tools

The most used digital tool was the NHS App, which had been used by 87% of people who completed the survey. Generally, patients felt the NHS App was a useful source of information and they valued the ability to manage their own health through ordering repeat medication and accessing their health records.

77% of those surveyed had used online forms to provide information about a health concern or condition to their GP. Patients highlighted that these forms often saved travel and waiting times, although a third of patients found that online forms were not always available for them to use and some reported challenges with lengthy forms to complete.

76% of patients who contributed to the report had used a GP surgery website in the past. Most people felt that GP websites were useful for signposting to self-care and information on how to access GP services. According to some patients, the quality of GP websites had improved; however difficulties remained for others around navigation, requesting routine appointments, and out-of-date information being displayed on GP websites.

Recommendations for improvement

The report also details a number of priority areas for improving the adoption and user experience of digital tools in primary care. It includes suggestions for improvements based on feedback from the patients that completed the survey and attended the focus group discussions, as well as learning and best practice from areas across London.

The recommendations include improved communication with patients about the digital tools available in primary care, driving higher standards of usability and accessibility across the sector, and taking a user-centred approach to engaging patients in service design and delivery. Based on patient feedback, the report also recommends that GP practices consider increasing the amount of time that online forms are available for patients to complete and that they explore enabling more online appointments for patients to book directly. Other suggestions included building in mechanisms to capture timely feedback from patients and making all repeat medications in the NHS App available to order.

Additionally, the report covers a number of considerations related to digital exclusion, identifying the need for flexibility within the use of digital tools to allow for compliance with the Accessible Information Standard where patients have different communication needs.

Discussing the launch of the report, Matt Nye, Director of Digital First Programme, NHS England (London) said:

“This report has shown us how integral digital tools are for people using primary care services across London.

We’ve heard that patients find the most common digital tools really helpful for accessing support in ways that suit their needs, and this provides more evidence for continuing to invest in making these channels as good as they can be.

Optimising digital channels can often provide long-term efficiency savings for practices while improving patient choice. If we can save admin time for busy GP teams through increasing the use of digital tools where appropriate, that in turn frees up time to help people who need to use other routes to access advice or support.”

Amanda Begley, Director of Digital Transformation at the HIN South London said:

“It is great to now have such a rich picture about what is and isn’t working for patients when it comes to digital primary care. With the report identifying high usage rates of the NHS App, online consultation forms and GP websites, making some relatively small improvements as identified in the report could have a big benefit for patients and primary care services.

We also need to make sure digital exclusion remains at the top of the agenda and that primary care teams get the support they need to give patients access to a full range of digital and non-digital options for how they manage their health.”

Aurora Todisco and Faith Smith, Lived Experience Partners at the HIN South London said:

“We are proud that we have involved such a diverse group of Londoners in this project to understand the role that digital tools play in managing some key elements of their health.

Many of the patients we spoke to in our focus groups were really enthusiastic about digital technology, including those from potentially marginalised or digitally excluded groups.

Continuing to work closely with a true cross-section of society will be key if we want to pave the way for solutions which work for everyone.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact that this work will have for people and communities across the capital.”

Find out more

Please get in touch for more information on our work to understand patient perspectives on digital tools in primary care.

Get in touch

Addressing the challenges of interpreting services in maternity care

Published on December 13, 2023 and last updated on December 13, 2023 by Tash Hadley

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Darzi Fellow Dr Ella Caine writes about her experiences on the programme, how she used the opportunity to shine a light on health inequalities, focusing on the provision of interpreting services in South West London maternity services, and makes her recommendations to support ongoing work.

Having worked as a midwife for nearly 24 years, alongside helping to educate the next generation as a lecturer at the University of East Anglia, I was on the lookout for a new challenge when the opportunity arose to participate in the Darzi Fellowship.

The Fellowship, which is sponsored by South West London Integrated Care System (ICS) and the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, involves studying for a postgraduate certificate in healthcare leadership while addressing a challenge in maternal health inequalities. The challenge I chose to address was provision of interpretation services for women and birthing people who do not speak English.

This group experiences significant differences in health outcomes in the UK compared to English speakers. Furthermore, a language barrier can increase misunderstanding and even fear during what can already an intense and life-changing period. Within this group there are further challenges experienced by members of refugee and asylum seeker communities, who not only face language barriers but have often had traumatic prior experiences. My aim was to shine a light on the difference in provision between the four South West London Trusts and beyond, highlighting best practice and suggesting improvements.

Even for native English speakers, navigating NHS maternity services and labour can be confusing. While efforts had been made to improve alternate language provision, it is predominantly available by telephone and online, and is often problematic during emergencies or unexpected situations.

My first few months were dedicated to immersing myself in the four maternity services in South West London, which each provide care in the births of over 3,000 babies per year. There are also significant differences in demographics and wider contexts between the trusts, and my first challenge was familiarising myself with the South West London landscape, as well as identifying and engaging with key stakeholders.

Another important challenge was engaging with the women and birthing people who used maternity services whilst speaking little or no English. To do this I collaborated with third-sector organisations and community groups to reach them through trusted and established channels. It was not always clear in advance who would turn up to sessions, so I had to remain flexible. I also took the ethics of my research very seriously. Sponsorship by the HIN and South West London ICB ensured fair reimbursement for participation, obtaining consent and engaging with participants in an open, honest and transparent way. Overall. I felt very privileged to be welcomed into these spaces and to be trusted by these communities.

Findings

While it was challenging to work on the project in an unfamiliar part of the country while studying at the same time, after an intense year I was able to provide a comprehensive summary of the support available and make a series of recommendations.

While all trusts used phone-based translation services through Language Line, some also employ video interpreters, which added a more relational touch. However, not all interpreters understood maternity care and its terminology, leading to gaps in understanding, and some women and birthing people using the services felt uncomfortable with male interpreters during their care.

There are new innovations available, such as CardMedic, which consists of virtual cards with common questions to aid communication between staff and people accessing maternity services. CardMedic is in the pipeline for some London Trusts, once funding progresses, and is being trialled by another London maternity service.

Beyond London's borders, I encountered Trusts that offered multilingual doulas who stayed on hand throughout labour, offering emotional and linguistic support. In my opinion, this is the most comprehensive level of support available in labour, though it is resource-intensive. This initiative was offered through a voluntary sector organisation and anecdotally led to high levels of women’s satisfaction.

Key recommendations

Where possible aim for continuity of interpreter to allow trusted relationships to grow
Care pathways must be amended to include the interpreter as a member of the muti-disciplinary team
Building on this work South West London Local Maternity and Neonatal System (LMNS) should benchmark interpreting services and ensure there is no unwarranted variation across the system
Training and guidelines for maternity and neonatal teams should be provided, benchmarking against the Maternity pan-London guidance (pending publication September 2023)
Development of interpreting services must be coproduced with collaboration between:
a) Women and birthing people
b) Maternity and Neonatal care providers
c) Community assets
d) Maternity and Neonatal Voice Partnerships
e) Maternity core connectors/community engagement practitioners

It was a difficult but immensely rewarding journey, and I am pleased to have participated in serious engagement already on how to address the problems outlined and improve services. Maternal health inequalities, though deeply ingrained, are not insurmountable. By working together to highlight and tackle inequalities when we find them, we can bridge the gap and ensure that everyone, regardless of background, receives the support they need and deserve.

Find out more

For more information on how we address health inequalities, please get in touch.

Collaborating to target Atrial Fibrillation in South East London

Published on November 15, 2023 and last updated on November 16, 2023 by Tash Hadley

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London and South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) have partnered to continue work targeting atrial fibrillation by identifying patients who could benefit from life-saving anti-coagulation treatment.

Post Title

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a cardiac condition which causes an irregular heart rate and can decrease the efficiency and effectiveness of the heart. This year the HIN and the South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) have partnered on targeting AF, to continue the work started with the AF Toolkit Programme, in order to improve the pathway that treatment is being delivered.

Rachel Howatson, Senior Cardiovascular Pharmacist at SEL ICB said ‘the benefits of collaborative working between the HIN and SEL ICB are being experienced by many patients and healthcare professionals across the South East London Integrated Care System and we really are making every contact count.’

Direct oral anti-coagulants (DOACs) reduce the likelihood of patients with AF having a stroke. Following NICE guidance, DOACs are considered both safe and effective for the treatment of AF and stroke prevention compared with warfarin which was the conventional treatment option. NHS England (NHSE) now recommends that DOACs are first line treatment for anticoagulation of AF. NHSE estimate that 21,700 strokes could be prevented, and 5,400 lives saved over the next three years thanks to these developments. Through new programmes to expand access to DOACs, NHSE have established agreements which have led to a cost saving per patient.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK and is the largest contributor to premature mortality in the deprived areas. The NHS Long Term Plan aims to reduce 150,000 cardiovascular events over the next decade of which Atrial Fibrillation is one of the national priorities. The aspiration is to identify 85 per cent of AF cases and improve anticoagulation rates to 90 per cent by the year 2029. People with AF are five times more like to have a stroke, and the British Heart Foundation estimates that 270,000 people aged over 65 are living with undiagnosed AF.

SEL ICS redesigned clinical pathways to ensure more patients have access to the latest treatment according to national and local guidance. The HIN supported the SEL ICS through project management to deliver an AF detection programme. This supports the national aims to increase the detection of AF and we have utilised resources to re-invest in AF detection to identify patients who may benefit from anticoagulation.

Creating clear guidance has been important in terms of the raising awareness of detection of atrial fibrillation as well as its management and ensuring that processes are not prohibitive to the care of patients. This programme is aimed at detecting undiagnosed AF by deploying non-invasive devices that can quickly and accurately detect an irregular heart rate. Patients can then be referred for investigations and treatment. This allows patients to access potentially lifesaving anti-coagulation and reduce their risk of having a stroke.

This project highlights the importance of clinicians and colleagues working towards the NHS Long term plan of reducing 150,000 CVD events over the next decade. The early diagnosis and treatment of atrial fibrillation will go a long way to supporting this ambition.Dr Roy Jogiya, Clinical Director, Cardiovascular Disease, HIN

This work was also supported by the Clinical Effectiveness for South East London (CESEL) programme for AF management and SEL ICB CVD pharmacists working with acute trust specialist pharmacists to upskill and support health care professionals to initiate and manage anticoagulation for patients within primary care.

Working together, the HIN and SEL ICB were able to deliver this project to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Further work is being started to continue detecting and managing AF across south east London.

Find out more

For more information about AF or other cardiovascular disease prevention programmes, please get in touch.

Applications open to pilot of the South East London Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Decathlon

Published on November 1, 2023 by Tash Hadley

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The Health Innovation Network, in partnership with South East London Integrated Care System and King's Health Partners, are launching the Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Decathlon, a lifestyle intervention pilot for people living with hypertension in South East London.

Hypertension, alcohol, tobacco, obesity and mental health, also known as the Vital 5, are key drivers for health inequity, alongside wider determinants of health and psycho-social factors. In addition, hypertension is a key risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. At present, in south east London (SEL) of those with known blood pressure aged 79 years and under, only 60 per cent have controlled blood pressure.

Hypertension can be improved with lifestyle change and medication. A small drop in blood pressure can lead to a large reduction in cardiovascular risk. However in SEL, there are no commissioned lifestyle intervention programmes for people living with hypertension.

To address this health inequity and the gap in hypertension self-management interventions, SEL Integrated Care System (ICS) and King’s Health Partners’ (KHP) have funded a pilot of the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Decathlon Programme. This pilot offers lifestyle intervention for people living with hypertension in SEL.

The CVD Prevention Decathlon is a 10-week structured education programme. It aims to support people living with hypertension to reduce their risk of CVD by improving blood pressure control and other heart related risk factors. The programme includes holistic wellbeing information as well as physical activity sessions and can be delivered as a face-to-face or virtual offering. Of note, the CVD Prevention Decathlon has been successfully deployed in South West London.

The Health Innovation Network (HIN), on behalf of SEL ICS, KHP, Clinical Effectiveness South East London and SEL ICS Cardiovascular Group, is seeking expression of interest (EOI) from prospective SEL primary care networks (PCNs) to pilot the CVD Prevention Decathlon programme.

What does the pilot involve?

In collaboration with our partners Sweat Coin, Xyla, Citizens UK, the pilot will deliver weekly 2-hour sessions, where patients will participate in teams to discover how to best reduce their risks. The pilot will include a variety of behavioural change techniques, including theory sessions, games, discussions, as well as a 45-minute physical activity session that includes a variety of sports. Patients will also have the chance to win “Sweatcoins” which they can redeem in exchange for prizes. “Sweatcoins” are also ‘earnt’ by watching weekly recap videos and participating in quizzes.

As part of the pilot, the structured education programme, delivered through partners at Xyla, is designed to help people living with hypertension:

Understand what cardiovascular disease is, and the risk factors;
Make small changes to improve health outcomes;
Make healthier food choices; and
Understand how mood can impact health.

Each week will also include an activity session delivered by a specialist sports facilitator. This will include:

The opportunity to become more active through fun and engaging games; and
Activity suited to all levels of ability and fitness.

About the CVD Prevention Decathlon

The HIN, in collaboration with KHP and SEL ICS are seeking to identify PCNs interested in participating as pilot sites. A total of two PCNs will be recruited to deliver the Pilot for their population with hypertension aged 79 years and under. The pilot has the capacity of 100 spaces per participating PCN.

How to apply

Before expressing interest in the pilot, please read our flyer for more details on the Decathlon.
Use the following link to submit your EOI.
Expressions of interest must be submitted by close of business on 24 November 2023.
Selected PCNs will be notified early December.
Advice and support for completing your EOI can be accessed via Claire Torkelson, Project Manager, Health Innovation Network: claire.torkelson@nhs.net.

Apply now

Ensuring you've read our flyer, please express your interest to the South East London Cardiovascular Disease Decathlon.

Submit EOI

Need help?

For advice and support when completing your application, please get in touch.

Relationship building to reduce restrictive practice: a visit to Avery Ward

Published on August 3, 2023 and last updated on August 7, 2023 by Tash Hadley

Post Title

Restrictive practices are techniques such as physical restraint, seclusion and rapid tranquilisation used to limit a person’s liberties, movements or freedom to act independently in potentially dangerous situations.

The inappropriate or overuse of restrictive practice in mental health services has been identified as an area of concern in healthcare since at least 2015.

Beginning in 2021, the Health Innovation Network has been involved in local efforts to reduce restrictive practice based on the findings of a successful pilot led by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health.

We speak to HIN Patient Safety Project Manager Ayobola Chike-Michael, Ward Manager Lola Bakare, and Expert by Experience Igoche Ikwue about the programme team’s recent visit to a female acute mental health ward and their reflections on how sharing personal experiences and perspectives are key for further reducing restrictive practice.

Ayo

In my capacity as project manager for the Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme at the Health Innovation Network, I have had the opportunity to visit a few mental health wards in south London with my colleague Igoche Ikwue, who is an expert by experience.

One of the wards I was privileged to visit was Avery Ward, an acute female psychiatric ward. Despite their busy schedule, the staff welcomed us and we had the chance to meet the ward manager Lola, who later introduced us to other busy members of staff including the clinical consultant.

We had a fruitful conversation about the Ward’s approach to minimising restrictive practice. It was notable that the ward manager makes herself accessible through an open-door policy to both service users and staff. She described her unique approach as ‘we discuss, negotiate and we agree’.

This seems to be a working solution, despite experiencing the same challenge of high staff turnover which is common across these types of services. Situated in a deprived borough, the ward also faces system strain, evident in the long waiting list and pressure for beds.

Despite the dedication of staff, we learned that instances of violence and aggression affect both staff and patients. However, the team employs a range of verbal de-escalation techniques and other activities to de-escalate such as taking fresh air in the garden, and facilitating escorted leave, to manage and defuse tensions.

It was acknowledged that the pressures surrounding the ward can contribute to relapses among patients. We observed that the absence of a sensory room or equipment in the gym and the garden was in need of refurbishment. Nevertheless, plans were already underway to address these improvements and refurbish the ward.

We were told that staff experience emotional trauma from insults and violence from the service users (particularly the male staff). However, body-worn cameras have now been introduced to help take recordings of real time events.

It was evident that the staff have to daily work through a maze of challenges while trying to give quality care to the service users. We were very grateful for the open and honest conversations we had with Lola the ward manager and noted their laudable commitment to providing a safe and collaborative environment for both staff and patients.

Igoche

When I arrived at the ward, I had a positive interaction with a young man who was being discharged. We had a pleasant conversation, and he expressed his excitement about returning to his music. It set a promising tone for my visit.

As I continued exploring the ward, I noticed a slight tension in the atmosphere. There was a central glass office where the staff members and administrators worked. However, it was evident that there was a shortage of staff, which understandably was causing some challenges. Despite this, the ward manager Lola demonstrated true dedication to their role, striving to provide the best care and support possible.

During our conversation with the ward manager, Ayo and I clarified that our purpose was to support the ward and its service users. We discussed several concerns, including issues with the quality of food and the need for improvements, such as the functionality of facilities. Additionally, we addressed the struggle to find bed space for service user babies as the facilities were not designed to accommodate both mother and baby. The manager also mentioned plans to relocate the facility to another building, along with a positive update on recent recruitment. There is a specialised service for mothers and babies, so patient who requires a mother and baby bed will have to be transferred out.

As someone with expertise through personal experience, I firmly believe that staff members play a crucial role in providing care and reducing restrictive practices. It is essential to prioritise the well-being of both the service users and the staff themselves. Creating a safe and open space for caregivers to express their concerns without fear of negative consequences is vital.

Despite the strain caused by system constraints, the dedication and commitment of the staff members were evident. I also observed that the ward manager maintained an open-door policy, encouraging collaboration and engagement among service users and staff.

One particular moment stood out during our visit. As we were leaving the ward, a service user approached me, expressing her strong desire to see her children. Recognising the urgency of her request, I directed her to speak with the ward manager, who promptly attended to her with responsiveness and compassion.

My experience at Avery ward highlighted the importance of providing comprehensive support and care to service users while prioritising the well-being of staff members. The ward manager and their team demonstrated a commitment to creating a safe and collaborative environment throughout our visit. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute my expertise and be part of the ongoing efforts to improve the ward.

Lola

As a ward manager, my philosophy is that personal relationships are at the heart of creating a calm, safe and positive environment for staff and service users, where the use of restrictive practice is minimised.

I have found that building those personal relationships tends to rely on flexibility and trying to have an understanding of the whole person.

For example, I have my own ‘open door’ policy. Staff and service users can always come to me with their problems and we will do our best to figure out a solution.

Often that means negotiating; realising that both sides have to give and take in order to find a position that works for everyone.

Sometimes it is finding a way to be flexible about the small details which can make the biggest difference. Allowing more flexibility with meal times has been one way where we have seen really positive impact with service users – from a practical point of view it raised some challenges, but I am so glad we worked through them to achieve something that the people on our ward wanted.

We try and make the ward as close to home as possible, whether that means encouraging staff to make the time for escorted visits off site or building relationships with the other people who are important in the lives of our service users.

Often, we find that working with family to overcome challenges is a really effective tactic. We have multi family groups which run once a month. Family/carers and patients are invited to this meeting. Our aim is to try and create one team of people all working together for a positive outcome; that strong team is I think a big reason why we have reduced the level of complaints and of the use of restrictive practice.

Our ward – like many others – has experienced difficulties with staffing in recent years. Our staff are well trained and skilled to deliver job role. As part of my team, I have a professional nurse advocate, who provides restorative supervision for staff, and we offer monthly training days for staff.

The Ward Manager also acts as our See Think Act consultant, helping to develop relational security. This has improved the way we deliver care to our patients; our staff maintain safe and effective relationships with patients in a professional, therapeutic and purposeful way, with understood limits.

Despite the difficulties we sometimes face, I am so proud of my team; they understand how to deliver great care (including reducing the use of restrictive practice) and they are motivated and committed to continuing to get better.

Find out more

For more information on our Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme, please get in touch.

Looking after the NHS podcast: Episode 4

Published on July 31, 2023 and last updated on August 3, 2023 by Tash Hadley

Looking after the NHS is a podcast produced by the Health Innovation Network which discusses how we can make the NHS even better. Whether you are a health and care professional or simply have an interest in innovating healthcare, Looking after the NHS aims to motivate and reassure listeners that change within the health and care sector is possible.

Health Innovation Network · Looking after the NHS Ep. 4: Communities of Practice

Key Statistics

There are over 1.5 million full time equivalent staff working in NHS in England
The theory of Dunbar’s number tells us that in our lifetime we can only maintain a stable social relationship with 150 people
The Chaos Report found that of 50,000 projects around the world, 71 per cent failed to meet these three criteria: being on time, on budget and with satisfactory results.

The podcast is hosted by Catherine Dale, Deputy Coordination Director at The AHSN Network, and Ayobola Chike-Michael, Senior Project Manager at the HIN.

In episode four Catherine and Ayo were joined by Sam Hudson, Director of Überology Ltd and recognised expert in patient participation and experience. The episode discusses Communities of Practice (CoPs), which are groups of people who share a passion for improving practice in health and care. Practitioners from different backgrounds, with different perspectives, come together across organisations and across hierarchies to meet as equals to create new knowledge and develop potential solutions to problems that go beyond what each of us can address in isolation.

Sam is currently leading the HIN and Q Network's Communities of Practice Leadership Development Programme, and was able to provide some useful insight into the real-life improvements in health and care that can be achieved through CoPs.

The impact Communities of Practice can have is really powerful. There's a kind of magic in the room when it's really in its flow.Sam Hudson, Director, Uberology

Etienne Wenger, partnering with others, has been the leading researcher and developer of Communities of Practice for decades. Some of his useful publications are:

Cultivating Communities of Practice: A Guide to Managing Knowledge, Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott and William M. Snyder, (Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2002).

Communities of Practice: The Organizational Frontier, Etienne Wenger and William M. Snyde, (Harvard Business Review, January-February, 2000).

Etienne’s website is a good resource for all things CoP: www.wenger-trayner.com

If you would like to delve more deeply into the learning theory behind Communities of Practice, search the web for “Communities of Practice as Social Learning Systems” for relevant academic research.

Listen to more

Catch up on previous episodes of Looking after the NHS

Listen now

Find out more

For more information on Looking after the NHS, please get in touch.

Small products, big benefits: bringing MedTech innovations to south London

Published on June 22, 2023 and last updated on June 22, 2023 by Tash Hadley

Post Title

HIN Senior Programme Manager Dom Norton writes about a national programme, called the MedTech Funding Mandate, and the impact it is having on patients in south London.

Did you know?

The translation of healthcare research into practice takes a long time: the estimated time is 17-20 years. But implementation support, through programmes such as the MTFM, can accelerate this. Find out more here.

At the HIN, we often work with our local hospital teams to introduce and spread the use of exciting new technologies, to ensure that everyone in south London is able to access the best in healthcare solutions. In this blog, I talk about the MedTech Funding Mandate (MTFM) which was launched by the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative in April 2021. As we come to the end of the programme's second year, I discuss the programme, two of the MTFM innovations, and reflect on the impact they are already having for patients in south London; these technologies do not always impact large patient cohorts, but for eligible patients they can be life-changing. Lastly, I briefly look ahead to future programmes and provide suggestions on how you can help.

Product case-studies

Case-study: GammaCore

Cluster headaches are a relatively rare type of headache, but the symptoms can be debilitating. The Migraine Trust describes them as “One of the most painful conditions someone can have.” gammaCore is a handheld device which alleviates the symptoms of cluster headaches by stimulating the vagus nerve. The treatment isn’t invasive or pharmacological and can be self-administered, unlike other treatments.

In the below video, some local clinicians from Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital NHS Trusts talk about the device and the benefit it is bringing to patients’ lives.

gammaCore is now available to patients at all south London neurology centres, with more than 40 patients already having accessed this life-changing treatment option. You can access more information on gammaCore, plus an in-depth video on the device and its benefits here.

Case-study: SecurAcath

Dislodged percutaneous catheters can cause pain, infections and complications. SecurAcath is a clip that helps secure these catheters, improving patient experience and reducing the need for re-insertions.

SecurAcath is now available to patients in south London at six of seven eligible trusts, with the remaining trust in the process of introducing the clip. With the volume of clips already ordered and in use since 2020, an estimated 100,000 fewer catheter-related infections are expected, and even more hospital appointments for re-insertions are expected to be avoided. You can access more information on SecurAcath here.

Why a national programme focusing on specific products?

One of the challenges we all face is the sheer volume of new healthcare solutions entering the market. NICE publishes guidance for over 100 new products per year, so which ones should we invest time in supporting? The benefit of national programmes such as the MTFM, with a robust product-selection processes, is that only products with the strongest evidence for effectiveness, patient benefit and cost saving make the cut.

We also know it can take a long time for newly-evidenced technologies to reach real clinical practice, and even longer to be taken up everywhere, leading to inequitable access. Our aim, through programmes like these, is to address this access gap.

Impact and looking forwards

The story of these first two years of the MTFM in south London is overwhelmingly a positive one: all technologies on the Mandate have been adopted by south London hospitals, and in most cases by all eligible trusts.

The really good news is that we have shown that we are able to work with partners across south London to rapidly bring new innovations into NHS hospitals; and similar success has been seen across England.

The MedTech Funding Mandate programme is now into its second round, with products supported in urology, ear, nose and throat, sickle cell disease and cardiothoracic surgery.

The department for health and social care has also recently published its first ever MedTech strategy, which highlights the important role MedTech played through the Covid-19 pandemic, and its potential for the future.

For more information, contact the AAC Programmes team on hin.nhsaac@nhs.net

Are you a clinician or commissioner?

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Looking after the NHS podcast: Episode 3

Published on June 8, 2023 and last updated on July 31, 2023 by Tash Hadley

Health Innovation Network · Looking after the NHS Ep. 3: Collaborating Between Clinical and Non-Clinical Roles

Key Statistics

In the NHS there are around 164,000 full-time doctors and 360,000 nurses and midwives
Between June 2021 and June 2022, the NHS saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of nurses leaving their role
It costs around £9,250 per year to become a nurse.

The podcast is hosted by Catherine Dale, Deputy Coordination Director at The AHSN Network, and Ayobola Chike-Michael, Senior Project Manager at the HIN.

In episode three Catherine and Ayo sat down with Hazel Steele, a Matron in Medical Specialities at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital and former Project Manager at the HIN. The episode discusses the importance of clinical and non-clinical roles collaborating during projects which aim to improve outcomes for patients.

Hazel, having worked in both clinical and non-clinical positions, sheds some light on how projects can be more beneficial to the needs of patients by involving nurses and clinicians in the initial scoping of projects.

“It’s all about understanding the scale of the problem at the point of delivery.”Hazel Steele, Matron, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital

Find out more

For more information on Looking after the NHS, please get in touch.

Investing in our Care Home Leaders

Published on February 3, 2023 and last updated on September 8, 2023 by Tash Hadley

Cohort 4 of the Care Home Pioneers programme

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The Care Home Pioneers programme is a leadership support and professional development programme for care home leaders in south London. To date, we have supported over 70 care home managers, nurses and senior deputies on the programme, facilitating their personal growth in order to deal with the complexities of care home life.

On 7 December, the Health Innovation Network welcomed participants from the latest cohort of the programme to their graduation ceremony. The day celebrated all the Pioneers’ achievements over the course of the programme. Andrea Carter, the Healthy Ageing team’s Programme Director, reflects on the day and the importance of supporting the professional development of care home leaders.

Inspiring, humbling, innovative.

These were the one-word descriptions given by participants and stakeholders at a recent celebration which concluded a leadership development programme for care home managers.

Care home managers became all of our heroes during the pandemic. Nightly news coverage described the challenges they faced trying to safeguard their residents, while implementing policy decisions which changed weekly, if not daily.

Over the past nine months, the Health Innovation Network, in partnership with My Home Life, has supported over 30 ‘Care Home Pioneers’ – managers leading care homes in south London. This is part of our wider programme of collaborative learning opportunities, designed to support our health and care workforce in developing technical and leadership skills and real-world improvement projects.

During the programme, we witnessed emotionally bruised staff recovering, re-committing themselves to the challenge, and striving for improvement: for themselves and their residents. The resilience and kindness of this particular group shone through and will stay with me for a long time, even after 27 years working in health and social care.

At the end of the programme the Pioneers shared their experiences and described their needs going forward.

Many described their gratitude for the ‘safe space’ that the programme provided, to discuss challenges, as well as develop creative solutions to common problems. A few explained how the programme had enabled them to secure promotion within the care home sector.

The resilience and kindness of this particular group shone through and will stay with me for a long time, even after 27 years working in health and social care. Andrea Carter, Programme Director, Healthy Ageing team

Innovation was evident. Quality Improvement projects delivered during the programme covered a breadth of topics, including how to escalate concerns to health service colleagues when residents became unwell, new ways of supporting residents to live well with dementia, and creative approaches to encourage residents to eat and drink well.

This poster presentation and video describe their achievements in more detail. Additionally, the South London Care Home Pioneer Programme 2022: Cohort 4 poster can be found here.

We’re all familiar with the extreme challenges of providing emergency care in the current climate. In London, recent data suggests that the number of care home residents represents 0.4 per cent of the population, yet accounts for around 4 per cent of ambulance conveyances and around 10 per cent of occupied hospital bed days.

Care home staff often tell us their residents do not wish to be taken to hospital, and it is vitally important that we get our escalation response right for residents, as well as for the wider system.

To achieve this, continued dialogue with care home leaders is vital. They understand the factors that come into play when determining how an unwell resident can receive the right care in the right place at the right time, including how to ensure their residents don’t suffer the indignity of death in an unfamiliar place.

Care home leaders need to be able to share their wisdom as true partners in delivering health and social care. Let’s not forget the knowledge amongst this group of leaders, and all strive to ensure that we embrace the opportunities afforded by Integrated Care Systems and Local Care Partnerships by properly engaging them in local debate.

HIN colleagues at the Care Home Pioneers graduation ceremony

Find out more

For more information about the 2023 Care Home Pioneer Programme, please get in touch.

Collaborating to reduce restrictive practice: reflections from a visit to an acute psychiatric mental health ward

Published on January 19, 2023 and last updated on June 9, 2023 by Tash Hadley

Image of Ayo, Nokuthula and Igoche at the Goddington site visit

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The inappropriate or overuse of restrictive practice in mental health services has been identified as an area of concern in healthcare since at least 2015.

Beginning in 2021, the Health Innovation Network has been involved in local efforts to reduce restrictive practice based on the findings of a successful pilot led by the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health.

We speak to HIN Patient Safety Project Manager Ayobola Chike-Michael, Practice Development Nurse Nokuthula Marks, and Expert by Experience Igoche Ikwue about the programme team’s recent visit to an acute psychiatric mental health ward and their reflections on how sharing personal experiences and perspectives are key for further reducing restrictive practice.

Ayo

As a patient safety project manager, I know how important it is to involve people and communities in shaping health and care services. The experiences of service users and carers make them experts in their own right and they should be viewed as equal partners – “Experts by Experience” – in improving services and treatments alongside healthcare professionals.

We have worked with Experts by Experience as part of our Reducing Restrictive Practice Quality Improvement Collaborative throughout the project.

Personal perspectives are always enlightening for people like me tasked with helping services to improve, but the insights that have been shared during this project have – being truthful – been emotionally challenging.

Some service users have recounted their experiences of restrictive practice with words like ‘powerless’, ‘dehumanised’, ‘traumatic’ or even ‘haunted’. These words evoke painful, negative experiences and feelings of being actively hurt by the very health and care system that is designed to keep them well.

With these raw emotions in mind, I was nervous about what our planned visit to a local mental health ward might entail.

My experience visiting the ward

During our visit, we met the Ward Manager, some members of staff and inpatients on the ward.

We spoke with the Ward Manager, Nokuthula, for over an hour, opening our eyes to the complex nature of the multidisciplinary team operating at the service and their efforts to look after people living with a range of mental health conditions.

We were taken on a tour around the ward to gain a better feel of how the dynamics of the ward came together; it was positive to see so much interaction between service users and staff.

The atmosphere was calm and peaceful. We observed some service users watching TV, some in the activity room and others in their rooms. We asked many questions as we walked around the ward – not least why anyone would be restrained at all in such an environment.

The ward manager shared some of their own successful change interventions which helped keep the use of restraints low. They talked us through initiatives such as the use of safety pods and the Bröset checklist for risk assessments. An important theme was reflection and evaluation – taking time each month for staff to consider and assess their use of restrictive practices in order to reduce them where possible.

We also talked about how important it was for both staff and service users to be encouraged to share their feelings about life on the ward. Personal relationships based on trust and understanding are vital for everyone involved in the service.

Restrictive practice is a complex issue and does not have one solution.Nokuthula Marks, Ward Manager

Reducing restrictive practice is a complex challenge, but the visit brought home to me that many of the practical interventions making a difference really boil down to doing more to understand and be compassionate towards the people involved, whether through motivating staff and providing staff wellbeing programmes, or creating a psychologically safe environment on the ward through looking at the physical space or ways in which people communicate.

Nokuthula

I’ve spent eight years as a mental health nurse, and more than two-and-a-half as a Ward Manager. Working in acute inpatient settings is something that has always appealed to me; we see people who are very unwell and who have complex care needs, but showing the difference care and compassion can make to their recovery is incredibly rewarding.

Reducing restrictive practice is something that I think everyone involved in delivering mental health care wants to work towards, and over the past two years it has been a real focus for me personally.

The reality of working on a ward does mean it can be difficult to maintain perspective on restrictive practice. It takes conscious effort to avoid becoming “institutionalised” and treating interventions such as medication as being the only option. That is why projects such as the Reducing Restrictive Practice Quality Improvement Collaborative are so valuable – they allow for sharing best practice beyond our busy “day-to-day” lives, allowing us to gain inspiration and confidence from how other people are taking on this big, difficult challenge.

My experience welcoming Ayo and Igoche to the ward

I understand that the view many people have of acute inpatient mental health wards can be quite negative. People worry that these are chaotic, dangerous places. That is why I love having the opportunity to show people first hand the hard work that goes in to making them a positive environment and a place that helps people to recover.

It was so nice to speak with Ayo and Igoche about life on our ward. We shared insights on the approaches that have worked for us such as de-escalation techniques and spotting the early signs of distress to allow for early interventions. We also discussed specific tactics which have helped to make a difference on our ward such as the safety cross, a visual tool for recording uses of restrictive practice and prompting us to think about how we might be able to reduce them going forward.

A common theme for making progress in reducing restrictive practice is building time for reflection into our work. On the ward that can mean scheduling regular time for multidisciplinary team staff to come together in “safety huddles” to discuss recent instances of restrictive practice. In some ways the ward visit itself was an extension of our commitment to reflective practice, and I hope our experiences can aid those working in other services.

I believe that my experiences can be used to help improve mental health services.Igoche Ikwue, Expert by Experience

Reducing restrictive practice is a journey and we still have a long way to go. Our ward is continuing to work hard to be the most supportive environment it can be for our service users; we have just moved to a new, brighter location, which our service users are enjoying. We have also invested in training in “See Think Act” relational security to enable us to use the knowledge and understanding that we have of our patients and apply this to planning and providing care.

As long as we strive to communicate and collaborate, I am confident we will keep on making positive progress in reducing restrictive practice.

Igoche

My experience of caring for a family member who was suffering from poor mental health was very challenging. I was isolated in my own home and it put immense strain on my own health; it was the most difficult time of my life. It makes me sad as I reflect back and recall the lack of support that I needed in times of crisis.

However, I believe that my experiences can be used to help improve mental health services – which is why I am a part of the Reducing Restrictive Practice Quality Improvement Collaborative.

My experience visiting the ward

Like Ayo, I was anxious as I walked through the door of the acute psychiatric ward we were visiting. Despite being an expert by experience, and wanting to help reduce restrictive practice, I had no idea of what to expect.

With that in mind, I was pleased and relieved that common themes running through our conversations on the ward included compassion, kindness, and humanity. We talked at length about the importance of listening and learning from service users.

My time speaking to service users and staff on the ward also made me think about my own experiences. Most service users on the ward have their own families and homes, and in many cases they will have sole carers who can be put under huge strain by the demands of looking after very unwell people. The support on offer from these services needs to extend to families – or else we risk a vicious cycle of mental ill-health and people having to spend more time as inpatients than they should need to.

The visit also gave me insight into the personal connections that underpin services, and how we could seek to improve them to reduce restrictive practice and enable better care for service users.

Whilst staff on the ward seemed to value personal relationships, I wondered if more could be done to “close the gap” between operational staff and senior leaders; understanding service user stories and experiences is of benefit to everyone and should inform decisions being made at all levels.

In the same vein, what else could be done to support staff to develop themselves and bring their best selves to work?

I was particularly struck by our discussions with Nokuthula about staff struggling with being assaulted by service users, and we discussed the importance of consistently and appropriately supporting staff wellbeing.

Personal relationships based on trust and understanding are vital for everyone involved in the service.Ayobola Chike-Michael, Project Manager, Health Innovation Network

Mentoring is another good way to help motivate and inspire staff and provide them with personal support to help to develop their confidence and willingness to try new things.

I also think more should be done to build confidence and skills in communication between team members. For example, activities like lunch-and-learns that showcase hidden talents and hobbies may be helpful, allowing team members to bond over shared or new interests. From my experience teams that engage in fun activities together have a stronger sense of trust and transparency.

Restrictive practice should always be a last resort. My visit to a ward reinforced that focusing on building understanding between staff and service users is really important in making sure it truly remains only a last resort – I hope that more effective communication, engagement and co-production of solutions between everyone involved in inpatient mental health services will continue to reduce its use.

This project is featured in our Annual Report 2022/23.

Find out more about this project in our Annual report 22/23.

2022 at the Health Innovation Network

Published on December 22, 2022 and last updated on January 5, 2023 by Tash Hadley

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It’s been a busy year at the Health Innovation Network, from publishing new reports on digital health inequalities and diabetes care for mental health inpatients, to starting new workforce development programmes for cardiovascular disease and opioids, through the launch of our new involvement strategy and supporting over £600,000 to pilot new automation solutions.

Find out more about the projects we’ve worked on in 2022:

Using leadership development to improve the quality of care provided to people living with dementia

Published on December 21, 2022 and last updated on December 21, 2022 by Tash Hadley

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With more people living with dementia, it’s important that care home leaders feel well equipped in supporting those living with it. Dr Caroline Chill, the Clinical Director for the Healthy Ageing Programme at the Health Innovation Network (HIN), spoke at the 16^th UK Dementia Congress in Birmingham on how we can use leadership development to improve care for people living with dementia.

At the HIN, helping develop skills of those working in the health and care systems is one of our top priorities. Our flagship programme aimed at professional development in the care sector is the South London Care Home Pioneers Leadership Programme, facilitated in partnership with My Home Life England. Having recently completed its fourth cohort, the programme has helped over 70 care home managers and senior staff across south London to develop their skills, share learning and become champions for improving dementia care in their local area.

Dr Chill used the presentation to explore the Service Improvement Projects, which Pioneers undertook as part of the programme within their homes, many of which focus on care home residents living with dementia. To celebrate the work that the senior care home staff have been doing, we interviewed, and filmed two Pioneers from care homes in Bromley: Natasha Leslie and Nicola Orme. Nicola focused on helping relatives understand more about dementia while Natasha explained how she had introduced activities to respond to ‘sundowning’ – a period of agitation commonly experienced by people living with dementia in the late afternoon.

Nicola found that families’ understanding of dementia had increased following her Service Improvement Project, scoring on average 3.0 on a pre-workshop questionnaire and 4.75 post-workshop. Natasha also reported residents felt more supported and engaged in activities, with fewer incidents in the care homes such as falls and behaviours of concern. This had a knock-on effect with fewer 999 and 111 calls. Both projects have made a difference in the quality of care for residents, as well as a reduction in complaints and improvement in relationships between residents, staff, and their families. You can watch the full interview below.

“Presenting at the 16th UK Dementia Congress was a great opportunity to showcase the achievements of care home staff and to demonstrate the importance and value of quality improvement work in care home settings.” Dr Caroline Chill, Clinical Director, Healthy Ageing, Health Innovation Network

More information on the programme

The South London Care Home Pioneers Programme is a leadership support and professional development programme delivered to Care Home Managers, Deputies, and Senior Nurses to advance their skills, facilitate personal growth and help them manage the complex everyday issues that impact on the quality of their service. The programme consists of a combination of four workshops, three which cover the managing of self, others, and change, and one service improvement workshop. Additionally, participants on the programme undergo nine monthly action learning sets, which involve experiential learning through a continuous process of action and reflection, supported by colleagues. The Pioneers on the programme also benefit from working alongside mentors from the HIN, who provide support to deliver a service improvement project within their care homes.

If you would like to learn more about dementia, and understand how it affects the brain and memories, take a look at this video from Dementia UK. Alternatively, if you are interested in learning more about the Care Home Pioneer Programme and how it can support leaders to deal with the complexities of dementia, please get in touch.

Find out more

If you would like to find out more on the Care Home Pioneers programme and our work supporting people living with dementia, please get in touch.

Bromley residents to benefit from wound care breakthrough

Published on November 4, 2022 by Tash Hadley

Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK experience painful slow-healing lower leg wounds such as ulcers each year.

A new collaborative project led by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) and Bromley Healthcare Community Interest Company (CIC) hopes to test evidence-based approaches to transforming care for these types of wounds, with the aim of improving the quality of life for patients and reducing costs to the NHS.

The AHSN Network Transforming Wound Care national spread and adoption programme aims to ensure all patients with lower limb wounds receive evidence-based care. This leads to:

faster healing of wounds
improved quality of life for patients
reduced likelihood of wound recurrence
uses health and care resources more effectively

The programme uses the evidence, learning and recommendations from the National Wound Care Strategy Programme (NWCSP).

The Health Innovation Network, the Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) for south London, is taking part in Phase 1 of the programme and is supporting Bromley Healthcare CIC to establish a dedicated Lower Limb Wound Clinic Test and Evaluation Site.

The challenge

Most wounds to lower limbs heal within a few weeks. Chronic lower limb wounds are those below the knee that are slow or fail to heal. Chronic lower limb wounds account for at least 42% of all wounds in the UK, with leg ulcers being the most common type (34% of the total wound population, compared to 7% pressure ulcers and 8% diabetic foot ulcers).

A large proportion of the total wound care spend is for these chronic lower limb wounds because of their slower healing rates. In 2019, there were an estimated 739,000 leg ulcers in England with estimated associated healthcare costs of £3.1 billion per annum year.

Based on evidence from the National Wound Care Strategy Programme, the prevalence of total leg ulcers is expected to increase by around 4% annually, to over 1 million by 2036 if there is no intervention. This is driven by an increase in leg ulcers that either recur after healing or those that do not heal.

“Bromley Healthcare is delighted to be selected as a pilot Test and Evaluation Site for the new national Transforming Wound Care programme. The national wound care strategy will significantly reduce healing times for people, provide a better quality of life and maximise our nursing time. We feel honoured to be part of such an important programme working to improve wound care for people closer to home.

As a community service provider for people in South East London, we work closely with GPs and acute colleagues to ensure wound care is joined up. Through becoming a Test and Evaluation Site, we look forward to strengthening our joint work to support the early identification of wounds and continue to build our shared knowledge to improve care for people with wounds” – Jacqui Scott, Chief Executive Officer, Bromley Healthcare

How will we do it?

The three key elements of the programme are:

People: the delivery of training to all staff supporting patients with wounds
Processes: implementing a new evidence-based model based on the recommendations of the NWCSP
Technology & design: supporting data collection and provision of care through a new digital wound management system

Find out more about the national programme.

Get involved

If you would like to be involved in the programme, please get in touch.

Award-winning Accelerator pays testament to six years of AHSN support for innovators

Published on July 21, 2022 and last updated on October 7, 2024 by Tash Hadley

As DigitalHealth.London’s Accelerator programme is recognised for its role in supporting innovators, we reflect on the vital importance of AHSNs and their partners in helping the patients and the wider health and social care system benefit from commercial innovation.

On 7 July, DigitalHealth.London’s Accelerator programme was selected as winner of Accelerator of the Year award at the UKBAA Angel Investment Awards 2022. We are delighted that this award recognises the impact and importance of collaborative working by Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) to help innovators bring their digital health solutions to bear against some of the biggest challenges facing the NHS.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator is a highly competitive 12-month programme for digital health companies that have products or services with high potential to meet NHS and social care challenges. High potential SMEs undertaking the programme are given bespoke support and advice, expert-led workshops and events to broker meaningful connections between innovators and NHS organisations.

The programme is delivered by Health Innovation Network and UCLPartners, MedCity and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital Charity (CW+), and has benefited from AHSN funding from NHS England, the Office of Life Sciences and Greater London Authority ERDF. The delivery of the Accelerator programme has connected industry, academia and the NHS to exchange ideas and collaborate to support innovation and the adoption of digital health.

“I am extremely proud to see the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator being recognised as pivotal programme, supporting high potential innovators to tackle health challenges within the complex NHS market. Being selected as winner of Accelerator of the Year award is a fantastic achievement that reflects the collaborative efforts of everyone involved across the London AHSNs and our partners.”Anna King, Commercial Director, Health Innovation Network

With the NHS under continued pressure following the Covid-19 pandemic, innovative solutions are already proving crucial for tackling issues such as the elective care backlog and widespread workforce challenges, with new approaches also helping to counteract existing health inequalities.

Beyond its positive impact on patients and NHS services, the Accelerator is also a significant catalyst for economic growth in the capital.

In the six years since its inception, the Accelerator has supported 143 digital health companies and 591 new contracts have been secured by these companies because of Accelerator support. The companies on the Accelerator have created a gross total of 1,498 new jobs during the programme and 45 new products have been launched to the NHS market.

Find out more

Get in touch to find out more about DigitalHealth.London and their Accelerator programme.

Over 100 clinicians to champion CVD Prevention in south London

Published on March 21, 2022 and last updated on June 12, 2023 by Tash Hadley

This news story relates to the 2022 CVD Fellowship. Click here to find out about the 2023 CVD Fellowship.

Over 100 clinicians working in primary care in south London have today (Monday 21 March 2022) been welcomed on to the Health Innovation Network’s (HIN) first ever Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Fellowship.

This free HIN programme is designed to help improve outcomes for patients across south London who are at risk of CVD by supporting clinicians working in primary care to develop their skills and knowledge and champion CVD prevention in their practice or wider Primary Care Network.

In total there are 104 Fellows who are either pharmacists, GPs, practice nurses or physician associates. From Richmond to Bexley all 12 south London boroughs are represented and Fellows come from a range of backgrounds and are representative of the communities they serve.

The programme will provide free expert clinical advice and quality improvement support to help Fellows become CVD prevention champions. It will also help them identify and implement specific local CVD prevention initiatives in their practice and local area.

With six million people living with CVD in England with a combined cost of £16 billion every year improving outcomes for at risk patients is an NHS priority. This programme will help to speed up the adoption of innovative initiatives to help prevent CVD across south London.

Applications to the programme have now closed.

Dr Roy Jogiya, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Clinical Director, Health Innovation Network, said:

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome over 100 clinicians to our first ever Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Fellowship. This is an exciting learning opportunity that will include teaching from a number of national experts in cardiovascular disease. This will empower Fellows to be up to date in their knowledge base and feel more confident in managing cardiovascular disease prevention within their community of pratice.”

Oliver Brady, Programme Director for CVD Prevention, Health Innovation Network, said:

“It is fantastic that so many clinicians from a wide variety of backgrounds applied to be Fellows. And it is great that every borough of south London is represented on the programme. We will support these Fellows to champion cardiovascular disease prevention in their local area and together we have the opportunity to make a real difference to people who are at risk of cardiovascular disease.”

Running from April to October and culminating with a graduation ceremony in November the programme will consist of six monthly lunch time webinars led by experts in a range of areas including lipid management, hypertension and atrial fibrillation. There will also be ongoing Improvement Collaborative sessions and peer to peer networking opportunities.

Get in touch

For more information about our Cardiovascular team and the CVD Prevention Fellowship Programme, please get in touch.

What has working through a pandemic taught us about recruitment?

Published on March 4, 2022 and last updated on November 9, 2022 by Tash Hadley

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In our latest blog Rayvathi John, Health Innovation Network People Lead, reflects on how we get the recruitment process right and what is important in the hiring process in an ever competitive employment market.

Getting recruitment right, for every post, it is crucial to ensure not just that our important work is completed to a high level, but also that we engender the right culture at any organisation. A lot has changed in the way we hire and onboard our new starters at the Health Innovation Network (HIN) over the last two years. We have made some significant changes, and I am keen to share some of my experiences.

As People Lead, there are two questions I ask myself when it comes to recruitment.

The first is what is important in the hiring process? Is it simply finding the right candidate who can do the job or appointing the right candidate through a fair process which is without any hiring biases? NHS appointments and recruitment systems are robust and compliant with the Equality Act. This helps mitigate some of the issues of unfair practices at the application stage.

The second question is how can we attract the right candidates? How can we be the employer of choice? Gone are the days where it was the employer’s market. With globalisation and the HIN being located in the capital of the country, it is important to be competitive in the employment market. This is getting harder for the NHS as the demands of the workforce have changed and many more employers are also offering great pension schemes and improved work life balance schemes. So, how can we sell and promote our job roles to attract the right candidate where we have limitations in what we can offer to the candidate? How can we seek the best candidate from across the sectors to make NHS teams reflect with wider experience?

So what does attract candidates?

According to Hays’ data, 62 percent of professionals would be willing to take a pay cut for a job with more purpose. “Money is important, but it’s about having that compelling purpose and visions,” says Cathy Donnelly, Sr Director, Talent at Liberty IT. “We need to help people understand the difference they can make.” We are fortunate at the HIN that our jobs do have purpose and make a difference to NHS staff and patients and innovators in south London and we need to demonstrate our understanding of that. For example some of our latest projects have demonstrated the value that remote consultations, teledermatology, and virtual wards can add.

This is why it is vital during interviews that we promote the projects the HIN undertakes and the impact they have on the lives of patients and society – did you know that one of our Innovation Grant funded projects provided health checks for 441 people across six health clinics at local Black Caribbean and Black African Churches, a Tamil template and two mosques? We need to ‘recruit with reputation’ by emphasising our values of being kind, brave, open, together and different, so candidates are able to feel the culture as well as the work we deliver.

We were able to put this into practice in 2020 and 2021 when we had a number of business-critical appointments in the organisation, including a new CEO and a Chair. The process for the appointment of the CEO and Chair was intense but with a clear expectation that we wanted to appoint based on merit with equality of opportunity for all. Jobs were advertised externally on NHS jobs, NHS Executives, LinkedIn and Twitter for maximum coverage.

We engaged with stakeholders who know how the HIN operates and how the success of the appointment would be measured, including using our key external stakeholders, Board members, diverse panels and our host organisation. As with all recruitments, there was a need to balance conducting an efficient process but making sure the right candidate was appointed so that there was not an adverse impact on the HIN’s performance.

Having been a candidate using NHS Jobs or Trac to apply for a vacancy, I have at times felt extremely frustrated trying to complete the online application form. I am sure all the applicants who applied to the role of the CEO and Chair might have felt the same frustration. While the application process can still do with some improvement, the improvements to the anonymous shortlisting and online working have helped make the process run more smoothly and is a practical step to protect against bias.

We are a great place to work and we invest a lot of time getting our recruitment right. As we continue our journey towards becoming an outstanding organisation, we will be focusing on improving the responsiveness of our services, and looking for innovative ways to further promote equality, diversity and inclusion in our recruitment process.

If you would like to share your innovative ways of recruitment or if you need more information on our processes, please feel free to connect with me at rayvathi.john1@nhs.net.

Reference:

www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/long-reads/articles/how-be-employer-choice-talent-attraction-retention

How getting people involved can help make the NHS even better

Published on February 24, 2022 and last updated on November 9, 2022 by Tash Hadley

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Catherine Dale, HIN Programme Director for Patient Safety and Experience and Sophie Lowry, Implementation and Involvement Manger, provide an update on the HIN’s Involvement Strategy – also a key theme of lively discussions in episode 2 of our Looking After The NHS podcast series now available for listening.

Catherine Dale reflects on episode two of our Looking After the NHS podcast:

“The mechanic doesn’t ask me where they need to put the fanbelt. So why should healthcare experts, who have trained for years, have to listen to someone else?”

Ayo Chike-Michael and I get to grips with this issue in Episode 2 of our podcast series ‘Looking After the NHS’ which I am delighted to say you can now listen to below.

In this episode we are joined by Cristina Serrão – Lived Experience Ambassador in the Experience of Care Team at NHS England and Improvement. If you want to find out the answer to this question – give it a listen.

We have a great discussion about how involving people in the design and development of services can make the NHS even better. We cover a range of topics including why we should involve patients and what co-production actually looks like in reality. We also grapple with a range of challenges around involvement and consider the benefits, including reducing health inequalities.

I loved recording this episode, Cristina has a real wealth of insights and her passion for involvement is truly infectious! Involvement really is a real priority for me and for the HIN, and I hope this episode brings to life why it is such an important topic for us to address.

Sophie Lowry provides an update on the HIN's Involvement Strategy:

Over the last few months Catherine and I have been working with colleagues and people who live and work in south London to develop the HIN’s Involvement Strategy. We heard:

“No one person, no one part of the system knows the 'right' answer.”
“Patients are people who are more than their condition and diagnosis.”
“You can’t do innovation without involvement.”

Well, here at the HIN we wholeheartedly agree with all of these statements.

This week we brought together some of the people who have contributed to our Involvement Strategy to update them on the progress we have made and also to gather feedback on our emerging approach and delivery plan. This was the first opportunity we had to meet some people in person, and we felt such a buzz being able to socialise in person and use real post-it notes! We were also able to trial a “hybrid” approach, with some people dialling in to join in the discussion. It provided a great opportunity to connect, and our Chief Executive Rishi Das Gupta was able to thank people first hand for their insights, ideas and experiences that are centre stage of our Strategy.

We were delighted to hear that there was broad consensus that we have the basis of a strong strategy, one that will make a real difference to the way which we work and to the impact we have on local health and care systems. We were also pleased to hear that people were encouraged by the fact they could see the outputs from the workshop feeding into the strategy.

You may be asking “why does the HIN need an Involvement Strategy”? Well, we want to build on the HIN’s history of involvement and co-design activity and create a more embedded and consistent approach. We truly believe that the best way to achieve the HIN’s mission to ‘speed up the best of health and care together’, is to work in partnership with people in south London. As we believe that, by sharing their insights and knowledge, people with lived experience of health and social care services can help us to improve and innovate health and social care.

That is why this strategy, and the plan that will deliver it, has been co-developed with people with lived experience, HIN colleagues, other partners and stakeholders (over 65 people in total). We have had some incredibly open and honest discussions looking at both the psychological and practical barriers to involvement and how they can be overcome. And we believe that this transparency has been vital in developing a meaningful strategy that will make a genuine difference.

Catherine and I are so grateful for everyone’s ongoing support in helping to get this right. We will now work to finalise the Strategy and look forward to publishing it shortly and working with our colleagues, both at the HIN and wider, to put it into practice!

Get in touch

More information about the HIN's Involvement Strategy

Applications open for first ever Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Fellowship Programme

Published on February 14, 2022 and last updated on August 22, 2022 by Tash Hadley

The Health Innovation Network has launched a new Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Prevention Fellowship Programme to develop clinical skills and knowledge to help improve outcomes for patients across south London who are at risk of CVD.

Did you know?

Six million people live with CVD in England
CVD results in £16 billion in combined costs every year
It causes one death every four minutes

*NICE Impact – Cardiovascular disease prevention (September 2021)

This free programme is the first of its kind and is aimed at nurses, GPs and pharmacists working in primary care in south London who are keen to develop their skills and knowledge and champion CVD prevention in their practice or wider Primary Care Network.

It is Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accredited and will provide free expert clinical advice and quality improvement support to help fellows become CVD prevention champions. It will also help them identify and implement specific local CVD prevention initiatives in their practice and local area.

Running from April to October 2022 and culminating with a graduation ceremony in November the programme will consist of six monthly lunch time webinars led by experts in a range of areas including lipid management, hypertension and atrial fibrillation. There will also be ongoing Community of Practice sessions and peer to peer networking opportunities.

Applications for the programme have now closed.

“We are delighted to launch our first ever CVD Prevention Fellowship Programme. Our free programme will be delivered by experts in their field and will arm clinicians with the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to drive forward innovative schemes and make a real difference to patients at risk of CVD in their area.”Oliver Brady, CVD Prevention Programme Director, Health Innovation Network

Applications open for HIN and My Home Life’s Care Home Pioneer Programme 2022

Published on February 4, 2022 and last updated on March 21, 2022 by Tash Hadley

The Health Innovation Network and My Home Life are delighted to announce the fourth Care Home Pioneer Programme – a leadership support and professional development programme delivered FREE of charge to Care Home Managers, Deputies, and Senior Nurses to advance their skills, facilitate personal growth and enable them to effectively manage the complex everyday issues that impact on the quality of their service.

Did you know?

Since the programme started in 2017, 23 managers have attended from South East London and 21 from South West London
The Pioneer programme has had representatives from all of the South London boroughs

The ‘Pioneers’ programme is a collaboration between My Home Life England and Health Innovation Network, which has delivered leadership development to 44 care home managers across South London, over 3 cohorts since 2017.

The Care Home Pioneer Programme will use Action Learning techniques which involve experiential learning through a continuous process of action, learning and reflection, supported by colleagues, with an intention of improving practice. The Pioneers will also work alongside mentors from the HIN to deliver a service improvement project within their care homes, such as reducing falls or improving oral health.

The FREE programme is jointly funded by care home commissioners and the NHS, and will consist of a combination of four workshops and nine monthly action learning sets. At the end of the programme, there will be a graduation day to celebrate all that has been achieved and to welcome you into the Pioneer Alumni.

This infographic highlights key feedback from Pioneers who took part in the programme from 2020-2021.

Pioneer, Cohort 3, Care Home Pioneers, said: “It’s not a training programme. We are learning from one another. The impact of it has given me a huge amount of confidence to deal with things differently.”

Pioneer, Cohort 3, Care Home Pioneers, said: “I have introduced daily team meeting with the nurses which has helped to boost self-esteem as they are able to discuss any difficulties they may have in their work”

George Croft, Healthy Ageing Project Support Officer, Health Innovation Network, said: “The feedback from the Pioneers shows that the programme has played an important role in supporting care home managers during the toughest times that the sector has faced in its history, arming leaders with an array of skills and confidence to engage with wider clinical services to help keep residents safe.”

Further information

Find out more about the programme and how to apply.

Download

Reflections on Cohort 3’s Care Home Pioneers Graduation event

Published on December 7, 2021 and last updated on May 23, 2022 by Tash Hadley

Cohort 3 of the Care Home Pioneer programme took place amidst the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, meaning that all the programme’s sessions were held via Zoom. As a result, the graduation event presented an opportunity for the Pioneer care home leaders to meet in person for the first time. George Croft, the Healthy Ageing Team’s Project Support Officer, reflects on the day.

Key information

The Pioneer programme has graduates represented across all the south London boroughs.
14 Care Home Managers started Cohort 3 of the Pioneer programme, 9 of whom went on to take part in the Quality Improvement workshops.
100% of Pioneers who completed the final session feedback survey reported the skills that they learned as part of the whole programme were useful and effective in their everyday role.

On Tuesday 2 November, the Health Innovation Network (HIN) and My Home Life came together at Southwark Cathedral to celebrate the achievements of the third cohort of south London Care Home Pioneers. The Pioneer Programme is a leadership development programme for care home managers and senior care home nurses based in south London. The HIN has run the Pioneer programme since 2018 in partnership with My Home Life, an organisation working to support quality of life for all people who live, die, work and visit in care homes.

When I joined the HIN in March 2021, I was excited to witness first-hand how the HIN’s work impacted the lives of people working “on the ground” in health and social care. My time so far supporting the Pioneer programme has proven to me the value that projects like ours can bring to the care sector and those who work within it.

At the graduation event, seven Care Home Pioneers joined us to not only celebrate their achievement of taking part in the programme but also to acknowledge the strength and compassion that they demonstrated whilst caring for their residents during the coronavirus pandemic. The Pioneers reflected that the Action Learning sessions fostered a “wellness space” as well as a way of “checking out of work and checking in with colleagues” for a few hours every couple of weeks. One care home manager explained passionately that the sessions were “where I would go to recharge my batteries, they gave me courage during difficult conversations” – a remark that has stuck with me in the weeks after the event.

Care home staff have long felt undervalued in comparison to their NHS colleagues [recently highlighted in BBC One’s Inside the Care Crisis with Ed Balls] and the Pioneer programme is one way that we can help arm leaders with a “portfolio of tools” as one Pioneer put it. Another care home manager mentioned that the programme helped her “learn how to delegate better, helped my home develop shared decision making, and hand more responsibility to staff, which reduced my stress and helped me gain a better work/life balance.”

The Action Learning component of the programme was led by My Home Life facilitator Danuta Lipinska, who commented – “I certainly felt quite emotional, not only to meet these hardy Pioneers, but to be reminded of what they had all endured and survived, and were now thriving, even though the Covid-19 virus is still with us… We celebrated the achievements of these dedicated and selfless women and men and applauded loudly as we awarded well deserved certificates to the Pioneers. We wish them continued success and stamina in the months that follow, safe in the knowledge that they are not alone and have forged strong relationships with one another and are Associates of the My Home Life and HIN community – a compassionate, skilled and formidable presence in south London.”

When the Pioneers signed up for the programme, none of them expected to be taking part in virtual workshops, with all the demands that being a care home manager brings erupting in the background. Whilst helping deliver the HIN’s quality improvement element of the programme over Zoom, it was clear to me that there were a lot of exhausted faces in the room, even after the peak of the pandemic. Cohort 3’s graduates told us that whilst the programme would have been better delivered face-to-face (which the HIN would traditionally do), a hybrid of some virtual sessions would also be helpful on occasion for future cohorts.

“The feedback from the Pioneers shows that the programme has played an important role in supporting care home managers during the toughest times that the sector has faced in its history, arming leaders with an array of skills and confidence to engage with wider clinical services to help keep residents safe.”George Croft, Healthy Ageing Project Support Officer, Health Innovation Network

Whilst covid restrictions have been lifted, significant challenges remain for care homes. The existing workforce issues have been elevated further by staff burnout, as well as the government’s announcement that vaccination against Covid-19 is to become a condition of deployment in care homes. However, the feedback from the Pioneers shows that the programme has played an important role in supporting care home managers during the toughest times that the sector has faced in its history, arming leaders with an array of skills and confidence to engage with wider clinical services to help keep residents safe. Working on Cohort 3 of the Pioneer programme has been a pleasure, and I look forward to future work that we can do to support alumni and future cohorts.

The HIN are in the process of securing funding for Cohort 4 of the Pioneer programme, which will be co-designed alongside alumni of previous Pioneer cohorts, to deliver a programme that best meets the needs of care home leaders in south London.

New report demonstrates how dermatology teams can re-design their services to streamline the patient pathway and reduce wait times

Published on November 29, 2021 and last updated on December 20, 2023 by Tash Hadley

The Dermatology Improvement Collaborative was a bespoke quality improvement programme designed and delivered by the Health Innovation Network, Kent, Surrey and Sussex AHSN and supported by the Industry Dermatology Initiative (IDI). The programme was fully funded by the IDI and they also supported with the development of activities and outputs. The collaborative worked to support local south London and Surrey dermatology services to streamline the patient pathway and clear their backlog.

Note: a full report looking at the work of the Collaborative was published in 2023.

Key stats

In south west London it was found that 17% of dermatology appointments were being cancelled by the provider, compared to 10% Nationally in 2020
Across the three trusts in South East London, dermatology services received an average of 6750 referrals per month in 2019/20
It was found in Leeds and York that by using high quality dermatoscopic images, 9.5-33% of cases avoided a face-to-face consultation

Pre-pandemic, the referral to appointment time (RTT) was 16 percent over the 18-week marker in south west London and 31 per cent over in south east London. Covid-19 dramatically worsened the situation as a result of Consultant Dermatologists and other operational staff being redeployed to deal with the pandemic response, therefore further increasing patient waiting times.

However, with funding from NHSX to accelerate the introduction of teledermatology in south east and south west London ICSs, the Dermatology Improvement Collaborative was able to support each ICS to implement new technology which aim to reduce wait times for patients.

The focus for south east London ICS was utilising their clinical resources more effectively, particularly in clinical triage and referral. A technology platform was implemented to manage clinical virtual review. A joint consultant rota was generated where consultants across the three NHS Trusts in south east London could review referrals before they are actioned, in order to streamline clinical triage.

In south west London ICS it was about reducing waiting times for dermatology appointments in secondary care. Educational videos were created to support patient and GP education of the treatment and management of skin conditions. As a result, GPs could make more informed decisions and therefore more appropriate referrals, which reduces wait times.

Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust sought solutions to address increasing service size and demand. For their two-week wait skin cancer referral pathway, they established teledermatology ‘photohubs’ across three north west Surrey locations. Employing healthcare assistants to take high quality images, which were uploaded securely to the Trust image database for review by the dermatology consultants. Next steps are to pilot the AI tool Skin Analytics in their services as part of the NHSX’s Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award.

“Like many across the country, Dermatology teams in south east and south west London were put under huge pressure during the pandemic, but by embracing new technology they saw the potential to improve their services. We hope the report into their success can help more dermatology services to transform their services through introduction of technology to help to reduce wait times for patients.”Lesley Soden, Programme Director of Innovation Theme, Health Innovation Network

A number of case studies were produced using the insights gathered and have now been translated into a report to share lessons learnt for all dermatology services wanting to implement teledermatology. These case studies will be being presented at the Conference: Govconnect – NHS Long Term Plan 2021 Meeting on 30^th November 2021.

The IDI is a cross-industry collaboration to improve dermatology care and includes and is funded by the following member companies: Amgen, Eli Lilly and Company, LEO Pharma UK, Sanofi and UCB.

Date of preparation: September 2021 Document number: GB-NPS-0921-00004

Delve into the report

To find out more, access the full report.

Click here to see the report

Looking After The NHS

Published on November 19, 2021 by Tash Hadley

We absolutely love the NHS. But let’s face it, it’s not perfect. Yet.

Do you know?

We developed the OnlyHuman campaign to support healthcare staff prioritise their wellbeing during the pandemic
King’s College Hospital have adopted the OnlyHuman approach
You can download the OnlyHuman project here.

In our brand new podcast Looking After The NHS Catherine Dale and Ayo Chike–Michael speak to guest experts all about how we can make the NHS even better.

Listen to episode one where we explore how to improve staff wellbeing and discuss our OnlyHuman project with Deputy Chief People Officer at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, Ainne Dolan.

Let us know what you thought of Looking After The NHS

Get in touch

Hybrid Closed Loop Workforce Capacity Modelling Tool

Published on December 19, 2020 and last updated on December 19, 2024 by Tash Hadley

Hybrid Closed Loop Workforce Capacity Modelling Tool

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