Blog

It’s now been two months since I joined the Yorkshire & Humber AHSN (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN), so I felt it’s about time that I introduce myself to you all and give you an idea of the work I will be doing in my role.

The AHSNs are seen as the leaders in health innovation, and it is a real honour to be able to take up the position of Medical Director. In my role, I want to help develop clinical networks of innovators that can help identify and guide our strategic direction developing solutions to real world problems that our health networks face. I hope that we can be the ‘phone a friend’ partner where organisations go for trusted advice and guidance in their quest to improve the health of their populations.

In terms of my background, I have been a consultant knee surgeon at Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust for the past 13 years. I grew up in Leeds and moved to London to study Medicine at University College London, working in London and Brighton as a junior doctor. In 2000, I moved back to Yorkshire to do my surgical training and worked across many of the hospitals in the region. In 2009, I was appointed to my consultant post.

I was made an Associate Medical Director and the Chief Clinical Information Officer at the trust four years ago where I was part of the team delivering the trusts digital strategy. These four years in digital health showed me the important role innovation has in delivering improvements to health outcomes. When the role at the Y&H AHSN came up I jumped at the chance knowing it was an opportunity where I could be involved in bringing about real change across, not just a single organisation, but across whole health systems.

Healthcare is facing a period of momentous change with innovation being at the forefront of this. We are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and face the challenge of huge waiting lists while facing significant financial and workforce pressures. Every day the projects that the AHSN has overseen are making real differences across the NHS and it is so exciting on a personal level to be here to help shape future change. Being able to make real changes to how organisations deliver care to patients and improve outcomes is something which cannot be underestimated. I speak on this in further detail in my recent podcast with the Health Tech Newspaper.

We need to see this as a time to shine and show how the AHSNs can be at the forefront of healthcare transformation improving the lives of our patients. I am really excited to be working with you all and look forward to exploring how we can deliver real change to improve the health and wellbeing of our population.

Please reach out and get in touch and let’s see the challenges ahead as real opportunities to show the value in what we do.