Finger on the Pulse: Recent Episodes
National Health Executive
The Finger on the Pulse podcast is the perfect place to garner insights from across all aspects of healthcare, as we get into the crucial ‘whys’ behind the stories and how they can impact all of us to improve our work, our lives and the care and services we provide as an industry.
Tune in, discover more about our diverse and talented health sector and it may well spark the solution to help you see a problem or challenge in a new light.
For episode 52 of the National Health Executive podcast we were joined by National Voices’ CEO, Jacob Lant, to talk about the first weeks of the new government, his relationship so far with health secretary Wes Streeting, how Lord Darzi’s report should land, and the way forward for the third sector.
Speaking on what he wants to see over the course of this parliament, Jacob said: “A bit more forensic analysis on who is waiting longer – we know from previous research that it tends to be people living in the poorest communities in the country who wait longer, it tends to be ethnic minority individuals, it tends to be women, [and] people with disabilities.”
Helping people wait better and being smarter about those experiencing the worst outcomes is critical for Jacob.
He added that the biggest thing that charities can help the NHS with is being that connection into the community and the organisations that National Voices represents are not there to deliver services “on the cheap” but in fact to be a strategic partner.
Listen to the full episode to hear Jacob thoughts.
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For episode 51 of the National Health Executive podcast, we were joined by Dr Dan Rose, who is the medical director for UK and Ireland at Everlight Radiology, to explore the radiology workforce crisis, what solutions can be put in place to address the issues, and whether teleradiology can be the future for the sector.
On flexible working, Dan said that it is a key recommendation from the royal college that was accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He added: “The additional benefits that brings is that it’s a recognition that the old ways of working – globally, not just in medicine, not just in radiology, but globally – have undergone a sea change essentially. Colleagues are much more aware of the ability to be able to work flexibly.”
Listen to the full podcast to learn more about how teleradiology and Everlight Radiology are creating a more sustainable workforce, the ‘follow the sun’ model’ and the three key takeaways for listeners.
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In episode 35 of the National Health Executive podcast, we were joined by Professor Durka Dougall who is the chair of The Health Creation Alliance and Dr Andy Knox who is Associate Medical Director at Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board.
In the episode we spoke about population health, population health management, public health, health inequalities and everything in between. We also went into how all of the aforementioned phrases factor into combatting health inequalities.
The podcast explores how both guests first entered this particular part of the health sector and their passion behind it.
Dr Knox discusses the epiphany he had while working as a GP that allowed him to think differently and enter a role leadership role where he helped engage local communities in thinking more about their own health.
Prof Dougall also discusses her exasperation at the lack of progress on the health inequalities front despite widespread acknowledgement of the presence of avoidable issues.
Listen to the full podcast for more.
In episode 34 of the National Health Executive podcast, we are joined by NHS England’s national clinical director for infection, antimicrobial resistance and deterioration, Dr Matt Inada-Kim, to discuss whether the pandemic is really over, how the NHS has learnt from Covid-19 and what the NHS needs to do to prepare for the next global health incident.
Dr Inada-Kim said: “Whilst technically it [the pandemic] might be over in terms of the numbers, certainly from a Covid perspective, we’re very much still in maelstrom of the effects of it – particularly the backlog.
“But it’s not just catching up on the elective work in terms of surgery, operations or appointments but it’s also a backlog of preventative and chronic disease management that I don’t think we were optimally able to provide during the lockdown.”
Dr Inada-Kim went onto explain how he believes the health service needs a “sea change” to ensure patients are cared for in the right place and not just the most convenient one as well as highlighting the need to make use of industry partnerships to further accelerate the “ explosion of digital tech”.
He also went on to note need for better “measurement” in terms of how the NHS benchmarks quality and safety of care against both itself and other health systems.
“A lot of our initiatives appear to be focused around avoiding work – reducing activity, avoiding an admission, avoiding an attendance, reducing general practice appointments for instance – [but] we also need, with 50% of our energy, to be focusing on quality of care, the safety of care [and] ensuring outcomes for patients remain at the very forefront of everything we do.”
In Episode 33 of the National Health Executive (NHE) podcast, we spoke to Dr Matt Harris who is a clinical senior lecturer in public health at Imperial College London and Dr Nav Chana who is the former chair of the National Association of Primary Care.
They told us about a scheme imported from Brazil that uses community health workers to increase NHS health checks, enhance cancer screening numbers and drive immunisation.
Dr Harris said: “What was interesting about the way in which they [Brazil] deployed their community health workers was that there was a very efficient and effective system that has scaled nationally and is actually the biggest publicly-provided, taxpayer-funded, free-at-the-point-of-use primary care system in the world now – they have 275,000 community health workers!”
Dr Harris went onto explain what was so unique about the way Brazil uses their community health workers citing their intimate knowledge of their community, how they are paid full time and the catchment areas they are responsible for.
Dr Harris and Dr Chana then explained the attitudes around learning from countries like Brazil and how they need to change.
In this episode of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast our host, Saskia Hicking, speaks with Dr Giles Yeo,a Geneticist at Cambridge University and Dr Stephanie De Giorgio, a General Practitioner, about the stigmas that surround obesity and why we as a society suffer, not only physically, but also mentally with the affects of being overweight. Whilst our guests look to help raise awareness and educate health professionals on how to correctly treat and talk to obese patients, we delve into the solutions our healthcare system could adopt to abolish obesity stigma.
In this episode of Finger on the Pulse, NHE's Saskia Hicking spoke to Alex Church, programme lead at Norfolk and Waveney CCG about some of the ways his group are preparing for the introduction of the ICS and how he thinks this new way of working combined with digital technology will help to create a better care system for all.
On Episode 26 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, host Matt Roberts is joined by Jon Constantine-Smith, Managing Director of Bluetree Medical, to discuss how the organisation adapted it's manufacturing line to produce face masks for the NHS, and why it has now become a long-term direction for the business.
On episode 25 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast our host Saskia Hicking spoke to Anne Cooper, former Chief Nurse for NHS Digital about the benefits and drawbacks of implementing technology and digital within the NHS.
“What we’ve got to do is look at what is the impact of having a wound infection, or a surgical site infection, on the patient, on the doctor and the healthcare professionals, as well as the economic burden within the NHS.”
As somebody who has become highly knowledgeable on these what these impacts of a surgical site infection (SSI) are, it is why Giles Bond-Smith is so passionate around improving the processes and attention paid to it within the NHS.
The Emergency General/HPB surgeon at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust joined host Matt Roberts on NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast discussing some of the challenges commonly faced around this type of infection prevention, but also the opportunities to innovate as well.
“We should be doing everything possible to look at how we can mitigate surgical site infections for our patients.
“Typically, as surgeons, we don’t really pay much attention to our wounds, but the patients do. How does a patient judge whether an operation went well or not? They look down at their wound; they see how big it was.
“If the wound is less in size than the wound is in their mind, they think we’ve done well. If the wound heals beautiful, people show it and say the operation went very well.
“Whereas, if someone’s had a complete wound dehiscence due to infection, they feel the operation was a disaster. Now, it might not have been, but that’s how the patient perceives it, and we’ve got to take this more seriously.”
But how do we tackle surgical site infections and ensure the wounds can heal neatly, safely and quickly for the patient?
One of the ways, as Giles explains during the podcast episode, is to look at some of the really simple but innovative technology out there – such as the antibacterial Ethicon PLUS sutures he and his team uses – as ways to improve patient outcomes without having to drastically alter the way in which these surgeries are performed.
Much of the success instead can come from small, incremental gains in the procedures, awareness and tools being utilised by surgeons.
Listen to Ep 24. of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast with Giles Bond-Smith
For patients will all types of conditions, the pandemic has led to significant challenges around their care, with treatment backlogs and elevated risks from the virus. However, particularly for those with long-term conditions, there has been notable disruption to their regular care, with stakeholders from across all aspects of the healthcare required to play a role in the recovery.
Speaking with consultant rheumatologist and Chair of the British Society of Rheumatology’s Clinical Affairs Committee, Dr Elizabeth Macphie, and Todd Manning, General Manager at AbbVie UK, the scale of the challenge before us is vast, but spread disproportionately from service to service, and specialty to specialty. This has created unique challenges, but equally opportunities to innovate around the care being provided, to meet the local needs and desires of these services’ patients.
Dr Macphie, who alongside her BSR role is a consultant rheumatologist based in Preston within a community rheumatology service as part of an integrated musculoskeletal (MSK) service, explains: “I’ve come into this with the local knowledge of what’s happened to our service as a result of the pandemic and how things have changed, but [myself and colleagues] have also been listening to that national voice of what is happening to colleagues and departments up and down the country.
“We’re recognising that rheumatology services are very different, and the impact of services has been quite varied.
“How these services are now getting back to the ‘new normal’ as we hear being talked about so often, is again very different for services up and down the country.
“With respect to the NHS restart, I’ve always wanted to look at the positives. The pandemic has resulted in huge changes across the NHS, with lots of activity put on hold, but I think the change that has happened within the NHS [around new mindsets] needs recognition.
“Particularly for services dealing with patients with long-term conditions, there has been so many situations where there were lots of discussions happening before the pandemic about where remote consultations fit [in the offering] for these patients. The pandemic has pressed the fast-forward button on all of that.
“It has meant we’ve all had to adapt to new ways of working very rapidly, and now we must capture those new models of care.”
But responsibility for those building those improvements in services doesn’t just fall on the clinicians’ shoulders. Rather, all those involved in health have a role to play; with AbbVie’s Todd Manning adding: “We believe very strongly that we have a responsibility to healthcare systems in the UK and around the world to play a really active role in the recovery coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic, to the same level we believe we played during the acute phase of the pandemic.
“We have a specialisation in medicines and vaccines, but we also have a wealth of expertise in developing initiatives and tools which can help support the efficient and optimised deliver of care for patients, through existing and new channels.
“We [equally] have a broad network which we can utilise, bringing stakeholders together to stimulate debate around key issues that are affecting patients. In these types of ways, I think that we can play a role beyond the rules that our medicines can play to help the NHS recover as quickly as possible for patients.”
But, for all of the want to spark discussion and collaboration, what do some of the new ways of working and innovative approaches which the likes of Todd and Dr Macphie are championing look like?
One recent aspect of research conducted by AbbVie was based around better understanding the impact of Covid-19 on these patients with long-term conditions, helping to understand and qualify the scale of the issue. Evidence showing a sharp drop in GP appointments, referrals and outpatient appointments were not surprising to them, Todd explains, but did demonstrate the concerning breadth of the situation.
For example, using modelling techniques, there was estimated to be a staggering 124,000 patients who may have had some kind of misdiagnosis of their conditions.
Importantly, as a caveat, many of these have not been given final incorrect diagnoses, but rather saw the pandemic limit further discovery, testing or appointments which might have revealed a different condition. Other patients, due to delays in treatment, have been left without a diagnosis, with many – particularly those with long-term conditions – likely to present in the future with more severe instances of their disease, having more complex care needs and potentially requiring more invasive or potent treatments.
Getting the response right will directly impact these patients. As Todd emphasises: “These are patients whose lives are going to benefit from the way the NHS responds.
“There is clear evidence that the earlier you treat the disease, the better outcomes that you have in the long term. So there is a risk [regardless of the pandemic] but we may see more individuals presenting with more severe forms of a condition – like rheumatoid arthritis, for example – than we would have pre-pandemic.”
And one important, potentially significant way of improving the treatment provided to those patients is to involve them more extensively in their own care decisions; often utilising a method known as shared decision making. That way, for those with long-term conditions, they are choosing models of care which best meet the needs and aspects of their life which matter most to them.
As Dr Macphie describes: “I think shared decision making is absolutely pivotal to any sort of healthcare professional conversation.
“One of the things that we see is the ethos behind moving from that paternalistic view of medicine where, as the doctor we know best, to this concept of shared decision making that is now well-embedded, particularly in the care of long-term conditions.”
Suddenly, by taking a conscious effort to involve the patient within the decision making process around their condition – particularly when most treatment plans involving long-term conditions are related to mitigation rather than curing the disease – the quality of that consultation increases, the clinician is able to provide more effective and efficient care by getting straight to addressing the root concerns which matter most to the patient, and there is a more positive experience had by the patient too.
“It is about recognising that we don’t lose some of the GAME we’ve had with making sure patients are involved in shared decision making.
“The other aspect is making sure that patients are provided with options in such a way that they realise the full breadth of what is available to them. Sometimes, I think it’s very difficult, as a consultant, to say to patients that one of the options is that we don’t do anything.
“Yet, one of the things I’ve learned over the years as a consultant is that, actually, it’s very helpful sometimes to be very open and honest with the patient. To let them know that is an option.
“It puts clinicians in a safe zone to say, ‘Look, I’m here to help guide you through the choices available to you’ and quite often some patients will come back and say ‘What do you advise? You’re the specialist, what is your advice?’ and I think if you’re very open and honest to patients, that there is a number of options, when they put that question to you, you can then assess them with [a level of trust].
“But it does take a lot of confidence. I think it is something you really have to work on as a clinician. You have to be in the right mindset to be able to have those discussion with patients. We all benefit from ongoing learning in this area, and I think it is one of the things that a collaboration with industry can help with because it is something [which can improve services] across all specialties.”
It was a statement echoed by Todd too, with AbbVie UK’s General Manager saying: “For shared decision making to work, you need a really dedicated clinician, a person that is going to share all of the options with the patient, and you need a willing patient for it to work too.
“But when it does, it has been shown that those patients who do take an active role and take responsibility for the decisions affecting their care have more positive outcomes.
“Shared decision making [and giving patients this opportunity to take responsibility for their care] is something that we’re particularly passionate about.
“Pre-pandemic, I think shared decision making was quite focused on the treatment pathway, whereas post-pandemic in the recovery phase, it’s about the treatment pathway, but also about the development of care services and how that will develop into the future.”
There will be a lot of changes in the near future in healthcare as we restore services and rebuild capacity, but there are also opportunities to reimagine some of our traditional ways of working, to increase the quality and efficiency of care, and to empower patients and clinicians alike. Shared decision making, particularly around long-term conditions, seems to be one of the opportunities of real growth we’re already seeing benefits from.
What leads to a digital healthcare solution being adopted?
Every situation is unique across the healthcare service, but often these innovations span out of some of the simplest of circumstances. For Open Medical’s Innovation Director, Piyush Mahapatra, he remembers the instance of a cleaner accidentally wiping down a whiteboard which had been used to track orthopaedic patients. A momentary lapse in the system, which presented a sudden challenge and an opportunity for a digital alternative.
“I’m a practising orthopaedic surgeon in London, and an NHS clinical entrepreneur.
“Most patients who have surgery for broken bones within the NHS are often managed on systems such as Excel sheets, Word documents or physical whiteboards.
“In our particular organisation, it was a physical whiteboard and, we came in one weekend and the cleaner had rubbed the whiteboard off.
“After that, version one [of our trauma digital solution] was created. It was a fairly simple database system at that point, designed to help manage those lists of patients in a better way.
“Since then, things have really moved on [at Open Medical]. We became a cloud native platform in 2017, and things really escalated. Now, we’re helping about 70 NHS trusts around the country manage their patients.
“We’ve got over a million patients on our systems today.
Through Open Medical, Piyush and the team have been able to leverage their own personal clinical experiences to develop a solution which addresses a significant need felt in the NHS, with patient management, pathways, and efficiencies. It has been built to address a need Piyush and his colleagues themselves feel in their regular NHS roles, and allows the team to talk clinically with partners, as well as technologically.
“One of the things that I tell everyone is that I use [our Open Medical system] when I’m working clinically. We all use our systems quite a lot.
“We get a real understanding of what it is like to utilise the platform, so if things are not user-friendly or don’t work as well as they should, we can adapt and change them.
“We can get that feeling if something doesn’t provide the functionality clinicians need, because we see it from that perspective too.”
On Episode 21 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, host Matt Roberts is joined by Matt Inada-Kim, Irem Patel and Catherine Dale to discuss how pulse oximetry was identified and scaled out during the pandemic to support the pandemic response. Matt, Irem and Catherine offer a range of different perspective, brought together by the Health Innovation Network South London.
On Episode 20 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, Dr Shanti Vijayaraghavan of Barts Health NHS Trust and Will Warburton, Director of Improvement at the Health Foundation, join host Matt Roberts to discuss the innovative work on video consultations that Shanti and her team have been carrying out for a number of years in Newham, in London.
On Episode 19 of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast, host Matt Roberts is joined by Annie Laverty, Chief Experience Officer at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and Will Warburton, Director of Improvement at the Health Foundation, discussing an innovative ‘Corona Voice’ staff wellbeing programme being ran at the trust.
Annie explained: “Looking after your workforce is really important. It makes sense from a human perspective, as you want to hold onto good staff.
“The NHS relies on the goodwill of people being deeply committed to a purpose to provide the best care to patients, but we know that providing that care sometimes comes at a cost to individuals.
“NHS organisations need to do all that they can to protect staff wellbeing because we know that it is inextricably linked to the care that patients receive, and also the safety and reliability of those organisations.”
The trust’s Corona Voice programme came out of a project being undertaken before the pandemic, to provide more up-to-date data and staff feedback to the trust and which allowed Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT, alongside support from Will and the Health Foundation team, to expand the scope of the project and better understand and support their trust colleagues through the challenges of dealing with Covid-19 and hospital care.
Listen to the full episode of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast with Annie and Will above.
Dr Anshumen Bhagat, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of GPDQ - alongside continuing to be a practicing NHS GP - joined us on episode 18 of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast, talking us through primary care, its challenges over the last 12 months and his visions for its future. We talk difficulties, solutions and ambitions in this insightful episode of the podcast.
GPDQ is an organisation well-placed to be assisting with the NHS’ primary care challenges right now, because each and every one of it’s members experiences those challenges in their own daily working lives.
That is because one of the core values at the heart of GPDQ is that it is run by working NHS staff. Be it a GP, specialist nurse or paramedic, should a healthcare professional move entirely into private practice, then they won’t be found among GPDQ’s roster of staff.
And having that skin in the game, so to speak, is important. As Anshu explains: “We lose about 90-100 GPs a month in this country. We need more coming through.”
So, to be able to provide opportunities to work differently, to work with different teams and provide services perhaps outside of their day-to-day NHS duties, including private practice, all without removing staff from an already waning health service pool is essential.
It is a belief seen in one of GPDQ’s convictions when it does provide private healthcare. In part, due to its staff’s continued involvement in the NHS side of affairs, moving treatment and care to private provision is less about seizing on a commercial opportunity, and far more about the knock-on implications that can have for those who do have to rely on the NHS to provide their care.
“Every patient we see in the private sector is one less patient who needs to be seen in the public sector.”
With the pandemic, that has become truer than ever before. The NHS is facing a significant treatment backlog, to overcome which it will have to work with and rely on services like those which GPDQ provide. And to their credit, these services have innovated significantly in response to the pandemic’s demands too.
Anshu describes how his organisation and colleagues have worked to deliver necessary services, including virtual clinics - including being able to step in at short notice for NHS staff absences (minimising disruption for patients) - through to running home visitations still where necessary using Covid ‘hot’ car systems.
It is a period of substantial change for primary care right now, with the likes of Anshu being able to provide a great insight into it from both sides of the NHS/private debate.
To hear much more from Anshu, listen in to episode 18 of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast…
“What do you want from your care?”
It seems a quite basic question for a clinician to ask. However, in its simplicity is an inherent power. By beginning the conversation in such a way, we naturally shift the patient journey and our interactions with that patient towards a process of shared decision making; we offer the patient a level of involvement and autonomy in their own care.
And by facilitating that informed involvement in their own treatments and journey, there are real benefits for everyone involved: for the patients, the clinicians and the wider system alike. For the patient, there can be no better barometer of what is and is not important to them individually in their care, based on their personal experiences, priorities and desires, while clinicians will equally benefit from more engaged patients who are likely to be invested in managing their condition and sticking to the treatment plans that they’ve had a hand in deciding on.
Read the full article here: http://btpubs.co.uk/publication/?m=62920&i=691004&p=34⪯=1
On Episode 16 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, host Matt Roberts is joined by SilverCloud Health's Head of Europe Dr Lloyd Humphreys as we discuss mental health, Covid-19 and digital mental health services. As a leading digital mental health service provider, SilverCloud Health saw a significant uptick in people using their digital mental health service; was that anticipated, and what are the implications longer-term?
As Dr Humphreys explained: "Uncertainty plays a critical role. [The rise in digital mental health services usage] was down to people having a completely normal reaction to an abnormal situation [in Covid-19].
"It's really important we need to not talk about mental illness but talk about mental health. It's a universal truth that we all have mental health."
And accessing support is naturally going to change and develop to meet the needs of people at that time, such as shifting more towards remote and digital services as the virus restricted our movements and increased concern among people. As Dr Humphreys described, people "want to access support and help in their own way".
Listen to the full conversation to on Episode 16 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast...
On Episode 15 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, brought to you by Brother UK, regular host Matt Roberts is joined by Ged Cairns and Matt Jones of Brother UK to discuss how IT and technology can directly impact and improve patient care - the only real "currency" which matters across the health sector, as Matt Jones explains.
Our discussions with Brother come on the back of a body of work carried out in partnership between our two organisations, culminating in an audience survey and whitepaper report - which can be downloaded now here - which we reflect on the findings of during the episode.
Patient care is the ultimate goal for all across the health service, as seen throughout our survey of both primary and secondary care members. As Matt Jones explained: "Moving into the public sector, it was something I was immediately struck by. The currency that people talk about it patient care.
"Their ultimate goal is to increase levels of patient care."
And as we discuss, both through Brother's products and more widely, there are real opportunities to be found across the health service. That can be everything from significant changes, from the labelling of blood bottles as one example from the episode, through to the marginal gains which all add up across an NHS employee's shift or working day.
Want to find out more, jump in and give Episode 15 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast a listen...
On Episode 14 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, we're joined by Professor Craig Jackson, Professor of Occupational Health Psychology
Birmingham City University to discuss the coronavirus pandemic, the health messaging around it and how those in power have missed a trick by overlooking the key role of psychology in informing the public of restrictions, measures and the ever-changing situation.
Together, Professor Jackson and regular host Matt Roberts discuss the things the government got right in the early stages, the uncertainty and vagueness caused by a second set of messaging open to interpretation and how things could be pulled together once more - including through the use of psychology, creativity and more individual messaging.
We also discuss the risks of an impending Christmas turkey shortage... ensuring it's not all doom and gloom in what is quite a difficult and ever-present subject in all of lives right now.
Join the discussion and let us know across social media what your thoughts are. We're always keen to engage with our listeners and hear different points of view. Whether you agree or disagree, discussion is at the core of how we learn and improve: as a society, as an industry and as individuals.
Anthea Hockly, Associate Director of Workforce Development and Learning at Essex Partnership University NHS FT (EPUT), joins us to talk about the new Health and Care Academy which has been founded in Essex through the work of the trust and a number of other partners from across the region's health and social care delivery spectrum.
Giving young people in the area an opportunity to directly engage with NHS and care professionals from a very diverse range of roles, including both clinical and non-clinical positions, the sessions were a great way to help the young people answer the questions they wanted to know and directly engage with people they perhaps otherwise would not have had the opportunity to do so with and discover job roles they may not have ever considered.
Having originally been planned as a face-to-face event, the coronavirus pandemic caused EPUT and the other partners to have to flex and shift quickly to a digital offering instead - something which has since become a preferred outcome after it worked well, resonated with the young people who remained highly engaged and opened more doors to provide a wider, more interesting cohort of professionals.
Training the next generation, across a range of different methods, and upskilling the existing workforce are essential to the continued success of the NHS and schemes like these are a vital way of ensuring the health service doesn't miss out on any potential future talent; even if they fall outside of the traditional, university/academic-focused route into the service.
On Episode 12 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, I'm joined by Michelle Nix of Parking Eye as we discuss the ways their car park solutions can assist healthcare providers in improving revenues, creating a better user experience and allowing greater accessibility and the introduction of touchless and cashless technologies.
On this episode of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast, host Matt Roberts is joined by Darren Atkins, Chief Technology Officer (Artificial Intelligence & Automation) at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust to talk about digital technology, automation and AI and how it all fits into the modern health sector.
Mental health has always been an area of significant discussion in the health sector, from clinicians to solution through to prevention. But, on Episode 10 of NHE's Finger on the Pulse podcast host Matt Roberts chats with Nicholas Rowley of the Manchester branch of Andy's Man Club, a mental health charity aimed at supporting men to talk about their mental health problems and overcome some of the stigma, to understand what services are out there to address mental health provision beyond the traditional clinical settings.
Telemedicine has been one of the emerging areas of progress during the coronavirus pandemic, with a much more widespread and rapid adoption of remote technology. But how effective is the technology for the clinicians using it - and how do we as a health sector decide which options are the best suited for adoption from organisations? To answer this and more, we speak with Glenn Smith, advanced nurse practitioner and one of NHE's newest editorial board members.
Throughout this coronavirus period, the topic of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the availability of supplies for our healthcare workers has dominated the headlines. Shortages have been reported up and down the country, while centrally the government has slowly sought to reign in the problem and address the vast, unprecedented global demand.
It’s been a competitive marketplace to battle in, while domestic production capabilities have taken time to ramp up to the level we’re now reaching. Around the country, there was and continues to be an acute need for PPE, from gloves and masks to isolation gowns. And up in the North East of England, one particular trust has looked to address demand regarding the latter of those items.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust took steps to work with local industry to set up its own PPE factory, producing isolation gowns directly for both its own staff and its fellow local trusts. On Episode 8 of NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast, Northumbria Healthcare’s Director of Finance, Paul Dunn, and local textiles industry expert, Sarah Rose, join regular host Matt Roberts to discuss the work they’ve been doing in more detail.
PPE just wasn’t being made at the necessary levels in the UK and with demand at maximum throughout the country, something needed to be done to ensure there wasn’t a complete shortage and staff remained protected as they worked to save lives. That response involved everyone, evolving as Paul tells us, from the way the local community and businesses responded locally.
Yet as Sarah explains, setting up a scheme such as this was “not just a matter of opening a factory, sticking a load of sewing machines in and getting somebody to sit at them” but rather required that input and expertise on products, materials and meeting the correct, necessary standards with the goods. As such, Sarah’s input and network were equally vital in seeing this work through from an idea to reality.
Now the vision has been realised, however, the opportunities are immense. Not only are Northumbria able to supply PPE gowns to their own staff and local staff in other trusts but they’re helping work to build a wider network around the country. Significant, vital lessons have learned from this process, with Paul explaining: “We’re very happy to give advice to any other organisation as well.
“Pragmatic advice on how they can take initiatives like this forward if they want to set them up locally.”
For the staff too, being involved in the process has allowed for the creation of PPE which better suits their needs. This wasn’t a case of selecting an item from a catalogue, ordering it in bulk and getting on with the job as so often is the case. Instead, throughout the process, they could offer their input, making a huge difference and ensuring its effectiveness.
Spawned out of the desire of the local community to support and give back to the NHS, it has also allowed the healthcare service to help and protect local industries and workers in jobs such as the textiles field which have been hit hard by coronavirus. Collectively, through outside of the box collaborations such as these, both a demand for PPE has been met locally, protecting frontline staff, as well as bolstering and potentially reviving the local economy in some sectors.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT’s work is just one of so many examples of innovative working throughout the UK. At NHE’s Finger on the Pulse podcast we want to hear from you about innovations your trust or organisation might be doing. Get in touch through the form on our podcast page.
Baroness Ilora Finlay, Chair of the National Mental Capacity Forum and a Professor of Palliative Care, joins NHE's Matt Roberts to talk about efforts during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, the potential longer term effects of bereavement, loss and trauma during Covid-19 and the potential positives we can find out of the difficult circumstances.
In Episode 4 of #WeAreNHE podcast we are joined by Henry Jones, CEO of digital mental health organisation Big White Wall. As Henry explains, with demand fast outstripping our capacity, we cannot simply treat mental health in the traditional ways. We require innovation and new thinking, such as Big White Wall has brought to the table.
Strategic Lead for Mind in Greater Manchester, Stewart Lucas, joins us for this on the go podcast to discuss mental health care in the UK and how he feels it is at present about 100 years behind where we are with physical health.
In Episode 4 of #WeAreNHE podcast we are joined by Mark Duman, Chief Patient Officer at MD Healthcare Consultants. He believes strongly in patient-focused care, explaining why we "need to personalise healthcare a lot more"
Chief Executive of social care enterprise, Turning Point, Lord Victor Adebowale, joins us for the third NHE podcast, giving us insight into the difference he’s made during his 20 years at Turning Point and what he hopes to achieve in his new role at NHS Confederation.
With hosts Emily Rodgers and Matt Roberts, and our first on-the-go podcast, from Angel square in Manchester, the conversation covers the three key challenges of healthcare in the West and how the third challenge needs to serve the first two.
Main topics include technology in the healthcare industry and new models of service delivery to benefit the end user.
Victor talks at length about the challenges of the industry, but with unwavering optimism for the future, as long as “It’s about thinking long and learning short.”
Whether you are in the healthcare industry or not, this podcast will bring you insightful information from a man brimming with experience.
Victor is also chair of Social Enterprise UK and is passionate about improving the lives of people, particularly those “on the sharp end of universal care law”, and working towards a one stop healthcare shop for citizens.
Claire Watson, recovery academy lead at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, joins us on the second-ever NHE podcast, talking us through general mental health and the state of care for it currently, as well as what she sees in her role as the potential solutions, and causes, of the problem.
The Recovery Academy, set up in 2013, is where Claire now spends her time, helping facilitate shared learning around mental health at the facility – which acts as a college within a functioning mental health hospital.
As she describes, it wasn’t the initial route she’d planned but a “series of fates” saw her end up in the current role, where as of October 1, 2019 she assisted in launching the academy’s 14th prospectus, now offering 66 courses and catering to more than 7,500 learners.
Mental health remains, understandably therefore, a huge pressing issue in Claire’s mind for the modern-day health and social care sector. In her eyes, as a mum to a teenage daughter, there is immense and constant pressure on young people and as such there needs to be real care and attention put into addressing mental health concerns they might have.
“Mental health doesn’t happen in isolation” – that was the most powerful statement of Claire’s during the podcast, and rings true as she discusses just how we should look to help address wider problems if we are to genuinely tackle mental health issues.
There is so much great, important conversation to indulge yourself with in this podcast, but equally we bring a little bit of a light onto who Claire is herself.
So, what two songs keep our incredible guest in good spirits, and can you beat her score on our health news quiz?!
Finally, who would Claire most want to sit down with at a dinner party and pick their brains? It’s a dinner table we certainly think many would be interested to listen into!
Dr Tracey Vell MBE, chief executive of Manchester LMC, clinical director of Health Innovation Manchester and associate lead for primary care at the Greater Manchester Health & Social Care Partnership, joins us in the studio for our first NHE podcast, giving us exclusive insight into the health environment and innovation going on in Greater Manchester.
This timely half hour episode takes a deep dive into the roles of Dr Vell, discussing NHS frustrations, health innovation and why there needs to be fewer meetings.
Meaningful change in NHS leadership is a hot topic of the episode, with a couple of "this is quite controversial..." moments, Dr Vell gives us an unfiltered and honest opinion to the current health care sector and why she wants to start a new conversation regarding NHS' "falling workforce."
Find out how she thinks that the use of digital will bring about better access into healthcare and why digital innovation is everywhere.
With a medical quiz taking her back to her training days and her call for "disrupting culture", this debut NHE episode is not one to be missed.
Can you guess who she would invite to her dinner party? I'll give you a clue - he divides the nation.