In conversation with… Jenny Thomas, Programme Director at DigitalHealth.London
In this interview, Jenny tells us what she thinks will be key in healthcare system rehabilitation and sustainability, as well as what she sees as the future for digital development within the healthcare sector.
Jenny Thomas set up DigitalHealth.London's nationally renowned accelerator programme in 2016.
Jenny has a background in healthcare delivery, having joined the NHS via its graduate scheme and worked for NHS Trusts in operational and strategic positions.
Jenny was interviewed in November 2021 - this piece was originally published as subscriber-exclusive content.
Tell us a bit about yourself and what your role entails.
“I lead the delivery of the various DigitalHealth.London programmes, this includes our flagship Accelerator programme and a number of others, including the Launchpad, Generator and Digital Pioneer Fellowship, where we focus on upskilling companies and individuals to become future digital leaders within London and the NHS.
”Prior to leading the DigitalHealth.London team, I worked for the NHS, having joined through their graduate scheme and have worked mainly within operational management and strategic roles. I’ve always been really passionate about the potential of digital to improve quality of care for patients and user experiences for staff.
“I’ve always been really passionate about the potential of digital to improve quality of care for patients and user experiences for staff.”
“Back when I was completing my MBA, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, I saw first-hand how we could use data to improve the way we were making decisions within healthcare - there were multiple opportunities to make improvements. For example, a Community Midwife might not necessarily need to come into the hospital in the morning to find out who they were seeing that day - this could be done virtually [Note from Editor: this case study shows how this might be achieved].
”It’s a challenge, but harnessing the power of digital in healthcare has a real shot at being transformative in the lives of us all.”
How does DigitalHealth.London support digitisation across the NHS?
“We connect digital health companies with staff from the NHS and social care as well as academics, with the aim of equipping them to drive digital transformation and to solve the problems the health service is facing.
”Our Accelerator programme supports a select number of SMEs for 12 months, with the aim to speed up the adoption of technology in London’s NHS, relieving high pressure on services and empowering patients to manage their health. The Launchpad programme provides bespoke advice to companies at an earlier stage of developing a product or service nearing launch into the health and social care market, over a three-month period.
”Our Digital Pioneer Fellowship programme works with NHS healthcare professionals who are currently involved in delivering a digital transformation project within their organisation. We provide mentorship with an expert, as well as workshops and expert-led sessions on topics ranging from change management to strategic influencing.
”And finally, our Generator programme support collaborations for evidence generation in digital health and we provide companies access to expertise in London’s key research organisations, as well as advisory sessions with experts in the field and support for protocol and grant writing.
“We’ve generated conversations within the healthcare ecosystem with a variety of audiences, to gain an insight into their learnings from the last five years and the opportunities for the next five years in digital health.”
“We’ve done a huge variety of one-off pieces of work ranging from thought leadership, webinars to educate the system, and bringing people together through events. Prior to the pandemic, we’ve also run projects on outpatient transformation and have been commissioned by investors to help them source and filter digital health companies. We have also supported the delivery of other regional and international Accelerators.
”Recently, we’ve generated conversations within the healthcare ecosystem with a variety of audiences, to gain an insight into their learnings from the last five years and the opportunities for the next five years in digital health. One key theme that we uncovered was the importance of thinking about digital health more globally. We’ve actually just launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator in California. Through this partnership we will be able to speed up the adoption of some of the best UK and US healthtech startups and help them gain traction within the global digital health market – we are very excited see how our new partnership will have a direct impact on the NHS.”
What current digitisation projects are you working on, and how do you see the role evolving?
“We’re exploring a number of other partnerships with some of the best healthtech accelerators.
”Following the success of our Digital Pioneer Fellowship, we will soon be announcing a new partnership to deliver a similar programme for a specific NHS trust, working with them to identify and nurture the next generation of innovators in the organisation.
”We’ve also been looking into how we can work with UCL, KCL and our other academic partners to improve the evidence generation support we provide companies outside our accelerator.”
You have said that one of your strong interests is improving the lives of women and girls. What digital solutions do you think will be best in tackling delays brought on from the pandemic in this group?
“There’s huge potential for women’s health in general because it’s a really underserved area of health care.
“There’s huge potential for women’s health in general because it’s a really underserved area of health care.”
”There are many opportunities for pathway transformation, for example in areas like endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). There are several healthtech companies out there that could support patients waiting for endometriosis or PCOS treatment, through encouraging meaningful dialogues between patients and their GPs or gynaecologists. This could be the ability to monitor symptoms remotely, or the option to complete digital questionnaires in advance of an appointment, for example.”
If the NHS could do one thing tomorrow to make digital a reality, what do you think it should be?
“I think the main key takeaway is that there’s a huge opportunity to address the backlog. When we set up the accelerator five years ago, we found ourselves spending a lot of time persuading individuals to talk to healthtech startups. However, we are now at a place where staff recognise that they can tackle similar problems using digital technology.
”Innovation is key, not just to the backlog problem, but to the NHS’ survival. It’s now a case of ensuring that companies are in the best possible position, and they are clear about what they offer and what problem they are solving. It’s time that we grasp the power of digital to overcome these challenges.”
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