Showcasing three original initiatives to improve clinical outcomes across the NHS. ORCHA Health will outline the core infrastructure needed to deliver digital health safely and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust share how they are using digital systems to support cancer patient-initiated follow-ups. South-West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust will delve into the process of co-developing a mental health medicines App.
Chair: Nick Barlow
executive director of transformation, DrDoctor
Nick is Executive Director of Transformation of DrDoctor. He leads the team that works with our NHS colleagues to maximise the value they are able to deliver using our technology. Nick joined DrDoctor from his previous role as Chief Digital Transformation Officer at University Hospitals Birmingham, where he led a pioneering programme to put new and emerging technologies such as AI into live clinical practice. Nick was previously Partner and Head of Healthcare and Newton consulting. He is an engineer by training, having started his career in digital simulation at McLaren F1 team.
Simone Brown
North Central London stroke optimisation lead
With a 25-year tenure at University College Hospital, my journey in healthcare has been marked by a deep commitment to advancing patient care in the realms of cardiac and stroke medicine. My career initiated in the high-stakes environment of Acute Cardiac Medicine, where I gained invaluable experience in thrombolysing patients during critical heart attack episodes. This foundational work not only honed my clinical skills but also laid the groundwork for my future endeavors in stroke care.
Leveraging my expertise in thrombolysis, I set up and ran the Hyper Acute Stroke Service (HASU) at UCLH in 2010. This venture was a natural progression from my cardiac care background, allowing me to apply my acute intervention skills to revolutionise stroke treatment and recovery processes.
My journey took a transformative turn in 2017 when I ventured into Stroke Research. Leading a project to collect outcomes from stroke patients, I ventured into coding, a skill that initially challenged yet ultimately expanded my capabilities in data analysis and interpretation. This experience proved instrumental in my leadership of an NHSE pilot aimed at refining the clinical stroke pathway, a project that concluded in 2022 with significant insights into process optimisation and patient care enhancement.
Today, I am spearheading a pioneering project to develop a clinical dashboard for our stroke pathway. This initiative is designed to provide a holistic view of patient journeys through the stroke care continuum, enabling us to capture post-discharge outcomes, identify care gaps, and implement targeted improvements. My objective is to harness the power of data and technology to elevate patient care standards, ensuring optimal health outcomes and quality of life for stroke patients.
In each phase of my career, my mission has remained unwavering: to merge clinical expertise with technological advancements to set new benchmarks in healthcare transforming patient care through innovation and collaboration.
George Kowalski
vice president of business development, ORCHA Health
George has worked with NHS Foundation Trusts throughout the UK and successfully facilitated shared strategy to improve outcomes and reduce health inadequacies within healthcare organisations in Gibraltar, South Africa, Australia and throughout the UAE.
George joined ORCHA at the beginning of August 2019 with the intention of using his knowledge and experience of Primary and Secondary care to assist ORCHA’s customers to experience the full benefit of the ORCHA solution through digital Healthcare. Additionally, George’s goal is to ensure that the very best reviewed and accredited Health and Care applications are made available to all Healthcare professionals as well as to the digital community worldwide.
Louis Ovonlen
lead pharmacist community services, South West London and St George’s Mental Health Trust
Louis is a Lead Pharmacist with over 25 years’ experience in mental health within NHS Trusts. He is passionate about the development of mental health services and promotes innovation in this area. He is currently leading the Community Transformation Agenda for Pharmacy within
South West London and St Georges Mental Health.
Claire Marsh
cancer PIFU project lead, University Hospital Southampton NHS FT
Claire Marsh (RN, ANP BSc (Hons), NMP IP, Cancer Leadership MSc)
Cancer Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) Project Lead – University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.
Senior Programme Manager for Treatments & Personalised Care – Wessex Cancer Alliance.
Claire has worked within cancer care since 1996 & qualified as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) in 2006. Since this time Claire has successfully implemented numerous service improvement projects in cancer care at local hospital level and more strategically across the Wessex Cancer Alliance.
Claire currently works one a day week at University Hospital Southampton (UHS) NHS Foundation Trust managing the Cancer Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) Project. This includes working collaboratively with the “MyMedicalRecord” digital team & cancer specialties.
Since June 2021 Claire has also been working with the Wessex Cancer Alliance, initially project managing the Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy Closer to Home project. From January 2024 Claire is now a Senior Programme Manager for Treatments & Personalised Care at the cancer alliance.
Claire Marsh, George Kowalski, Louis Ovonlen, Simone Brown
