What do you do at Inhealthcare?
I am a regional business development manager, with a client footprint spanning from the North West to the south of England. I work closely with NHS organisations to deliver digital transformation to help improve efficiencies and lower financial burdens. As well as having a commercial element to my role I am passionate about ensuring our customers receive a personalised, professional and customer friendly experience. A big part of my role is to support new and existing customers with the design and planning of their digital pathway, ensuring that we meet their requirements and visions.
How has your background in GP software systems prepared you for this role?
Massively, but for me it is not just the GP software knowledge that has prepared me for the role, it is also having a good understanding of the NHS landscape as a whole. Having worked in digital healthcare for more than 13 years, most of which has been with EMIS Group, I did spend just over three years focusing on interoperability between a variety of health and social care providers, so I have also got a lot of knowledge in secondary, mental health and community software too. I think this knowledge is invaluable given that I talk to NHS colleagues from various settings, and not only from primary care. I believe customers are put at ease when they know they are speaking to someone who understands the NHS, health and social care systems, and the pain points caused by limited interoperability. It is also great to be able to offer examples of past projects that may help others with their digital projects.
What do you like most about digital health and remote patient monitoring?
There is lots to like about digital health and remote patient monitoring, for both clinicians and patients. I’m so pleased the NHS is starting to invest more in this area. From a clinician view the benefits of remote patient monitoring and digital health gives them ease of access to patient data and the ability to deliver higher-quality care to more patients, regardless where the clinician or the patient is located. Remote monitoring for the patient also has to be seen as a huge leap forward especially for those with long-term conditions, who can continue to be monitored in the comfort and safety of their own homes, while knowing there is a clinician on hand if required. And giving patients access to digitised care also puts them more in control of their health and outcomes. At the end of the day this is all about providing the best possible care for us as citizens and I really believe that digital health and remote monitoring is the way forward to provide the best outcomes for patients and to sustain our NHS.
How do you like to spend your time outside of work?
For me, it’s all about relaxing with my family and catching up with friends. I am a football fanatic and follow Leeds United as well as my youngest sons’ amateur side, Farsley Celtic. I also like do a lot of fund raising for the football team. However, my absolute passion is holidays and travel, and as soon as one trip is over the next one is being planned… or booked.
What is your most treasured experience of the NHS?
My most treasured experience was when I worked on an interoperability project with 17 CCGs across the North West, to allow them to share patients primary care data across the entire footprint. This service was also delivered in less than 10 working days during the COVID-19 pandemic.