Partners: NWL ICB
Enabler: Upskilling clinical leaders
Clinical engagement and expertise has been critical in gaining a richer, more nuanced understanding of the problems the NWL Missions are trying to solve, and in developing and implementing effective solutions.
Across 2024/25 we have worked closely with six Clinical Innovation Fellows (two per Mission), spanning primary and secondary care, and expertise in mental health, discharge, nutrition, and more, to:
• Provide clinical expertise and feedback on new innovations, with a view to greater scalability and spread across the NWL system
• Foster innovation expertise amongst clinicians, enabling them to contribute to the continuous improvement of healthcare practices and systems
• Bridge the gap between clinical and strategic management, supporting the Mission teams to maintain focus on outcomes that matter for clinicians and patients
Our Clinical Innovation Fellows, who are embedded in NWL frontline services, have provided a critical, clinical lens to the innovations tested in each Mission space. Fellows have also met with over
20 innovators via ICHP’s Innovation Surgeries (as part of our Innovation Exchange offer), providing advice and guidance on barriers to adoption.
For example, as part of the NWL Mission for CVD, Dr Venothan Suri, GP at Glendale Medical Centre in Hillingdon (Hayes and Harlington PCN), met with colleagues from PocDoc – a novel point-of-care cholesterol test providing fully quantified lipid results in under ten minutes. Following support from Dr Suri, who was best placed to understand the clinical validity of the test in a real-world setting, this innovation is now being tested in three Implementation Sites across NWL, with a potential reach of 2,000 patients.
Embedding the Fellows as part of the ICHP Team has ensured we also contribute to their development through access to training, mentorship and access to real-world innovation projects. The Fellows have also played a key role in promoting innovation in NWL and enhancing clinical engagement with the Missions.
We’ll be continuing the Clinical Innovation Fellow programme in 2025/26, building on our internal training offer for new Fellows, as well as ensuring clinical expertise stays at the heart of each of the Missions.
“Being a Clinical Innovation Fellow allows me the headspace to think about how we do things differently for the benefit of our patients and the system.” – Dr Venothan Suri
“Fellows have provided valuable system insight and critical challenge to the problems we have identified, so approaches are more effectively implemented and scaled.” – Mission Lead, Imperial College Health Partners
