International Women's Day - Sarah Chessell

To celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day, Dorset LEP is pleased to profile some of the county’s leading females driving strategic economic change and innovation in Dorset.

Sarah Chessell is a pioneer of health and care innovation in Dorset, bringing together Dorset’s NHS organisations, councils, public services, and voluntary and community partners to use new innovations to support patients and service users.

The Dorset Innovation Hub, one of four newly designated Health Foundation Innovation Hubs in the UK, is hosted by University Hospitals Dorset. Sarah Chessell is convening a programme of group of 13 partners to drive innovation uptake, embedding patient and public involvement and engagement into its work.

Dorset Innovation Hub acts as a centre of expertise and support within provider organisations to help them, and their local health systems, become better adopters of innovation. In doing this, health care organisations create long lasting impact for patients and staff.

It is helping to build knowledge, skills and confidence in provider organisations and local systems, sharing wider learning on the organisational conditions that support the effective uptake of innovation.

Sarah Chessell comments: “We are still only at the start of our journey but have already strengthened our innovation system working, building, and developing relationships with partners organisations across Dorset. It takes a lot of time and ongoing effort to ensure that the innovation culture and impact is realised and continues to be imbedded in Dorset. The key we use is working together as a system and providing support and advice. There are many competing priorities and differing signals from various bodies that mean with limited resources we need to prioritise. We advocate working on a small number of innovation initiatives and ensure they are Dorset priorities.

“We support implementation working with the clinical and operational team in a way that provides the best opportunities to understand and realise benefits and sustainability. We respect that individuals are at different points in their innovation journey so it’s important to nurture and support at a pace that is right for them. We achieve this by working together, ensuring that our focus is the needs of the people of Dorset and ensuring those who are using our services are safeguarded. “

The Hub supports adoption of innovation in health and care and wider. It has a diversity of work and case studies that bridges all these elements.

One of its local priority projects is focused on the prevention of malnutrition in ageing people. Malnutrition is a complex and complicated issue, and one which requires a collaborative approach. To support this project a Malnutrition Steering Group (MSG) has been established and contains membership from healthcare providers (acute and community), the voluntary sector, local authority, and emergency services.

Another example, ‘Implementing front line response to Covid 19 – a local authority view’, led by BCP Council, Together We Can (TWC) is an innovation pathway working in close partnership with public, private and voluntary sector organisations as well as community groups and residents who have offered to help and support to vulnerable people in the conurbation during the pandemic.

The Dorset Innovation Hub is pleased to be hosting its inaugural Summit this May in Dorchester, which aims to showcase spread and adoption of innovation success in Dorset and increase awareness of national initiatives to support adoption of innovation programmes.

Sarah adds: “With the evolving changes in Dorset, we have ensured we are fully integrated in the Dorset ICS, enabling innovation to connect with the detail of our system priorities and meeting the needs of all people in Dorset. We have ensured relevance, legitimacy, impact, energy, enthusiasm and together we have achieved delivery of many of our objectives to develop a sustainable innovation culture and impact in Dorset. Recognising we continue to develop several workstreams, we are well along the path to ‘establishment’. It’s a privilege to work with partner organisations and through ‘developing the impact’ promote innovation activity and see the building connections and capability. We are proud to continue to develop our impact with clear focus on Dorset priorities.

“The design of the programme to date has provided a unique opportunity for Dorset to take forward its ambition to improve the successful sustainable adoption of innovation.”

Dorset Innovation Hub would like to thank all talented and inspirational women who help push forward innovation in health and care.

For further information about Dorset Innovation Hub please visit:https://ourdorset.org.uk/innovation/

Dorset Innovation Hub Summit Thursday 11 May 2023 09:30 to 16:30 Dorset Museum, Dorchester The inaugural Dorset Innovation Hub summit is being held on Thursday 11 May 2023 at Dorset Museum (Dorchester).  Dorset Innovation Hub Summit Tickets, Thu 11 May 2023 at 09:30 | Eventbrite