Why I’m passionate about patient-centred digital health and social care
Having worked in the health sector for over 30 years, I recently put myself forward as a candidate for the TechUK Health and Social Care Council.
My goal is to offer my experience to empower patients, promote collaboration, and emphasise the use of technology to deliver exceptional care.
Passionate about healthcare
At the BMJ, I launched a startup arm to back emerging health tech – fulfilling a passion for elevating innovators. I feel privileged to mentor a startup, guiding its mission from seed to scale.
As an elected patient governor at University Hospital Southampton, I advocate for patient autonomy. My own healthcare journey, marked by a heart condition, gives me intimate knowledge of the challenges and the potential of the NHS.
Now, as a Managing Director at Zaizi, I help health, social care, and civil service organisations transform care through digital, data, and upskilling staff.
Vote: TechUK members can cast votes here
People first, not technology
My passion is putting patients first — not technology. The technology helps us deliver great care to patients and citizens.
- Less tech talk, more on patient impact: Empower patients and health and social care institutions to use data and information to drive good outcomes. The technologies — AI, machine learning, algorithms, etc. — are means to that end. Discussing tech first can seem cold and make citizens worry. We need to focus on patient benefit and then determine what helps achieve it.
- Improve procurement and commercial practices: Projects are often looked at separately and in the short term because of how they are funded — but much of digital transformation is long -term. We must transform this and back agile working — break tasks into manageable chunks aligned to financial control/budgeting and underpinned by tangible outcomes.
- Building digital skills: We need multidisciplinary teams with digital experts at the strategic table. Often digital is separate and projects fail because of that lack of input. We need to facilitate that cultural change in the NHS.
I’m also passionate about conversations on standardising APIs & data, robust identity management, inclusive design, and public-private partnerships.
My experience in the private sector, working for Zaizi and leading digital transformation for public sector clients like the Home Office, Department for Levelling Up, and NHS, helps inform my approach.
And I believe public-private sector collaboration can generate new ideas to tackle complex health and social issues.
There are many great candidates on the list. If you’re a TechUK member, please have a look and vote. I would be honoured if you would consider voting for me.
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Agile government innovation: Tiny teams, mighty impact
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Artificial intelligence: threats and opportunities in national security
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The truth about government legacy IT systems — and what we’ve learned by working on them
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AI and supply chain in the national security arena
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Realising potential: Guiding local youth towards fulfilling futures
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Digital government: Why liberating users and data from spreadsheets matters to me
