Behind the scenes at an NHS Hospital for the first time

I had an awesome first week interning at DrDoctor, during which I spent half my time between the office and on-site at GSTT, going behind the scenes of the NHS for the first time.

Only having moved to the UK three years ago for university and now wanting to pursue a career in healthtech, the massive and notoriously impenetrable institution of the NHS is somewhat intimidating.

Healthtech, a growing industry that aims to use technology to make healthcare more efficient, is often seen taking advantage of the inefficiencies of the NHS. And these seem plentiful. But how receptive is this institution to change and how easy is it to implement these technological solutions?

Firstly, you have to get used to hearing people talk in acronyms. Understanding the organisational structure of GSTT has also been a challenge. It is composed of directorates, wards and sessions which are complicated terms with different meanings in different Trusts.

Part of my role is to facilitate the use of DrDoctor software at different levels of management in the NHS. For example, admin teams that often lack incentive to learn how to use another platform for appointment bookings. On top of that, my mission is to help them use it meaningfullyas a way to increase efficiency of internal processes.

Understanding the complex ecosystem of the NHS is therefore essential in this top-down approach which begins with the implementation of a product.

The Fit For the Future event organised by GSTT was a great initiative to promote and encourage the innovatory digital solutions currently being implemented.

I later attended a clinical transformations workshop that brought together people at all levels in the NHS that want to take part in this digital revolution. DrDoctor is also working with Yeovil Hospital, which was chosen as a ‘Vanguard’ site by NHS England in March to become a national lead to pioneer innovatory models of care.

What a challenging yet exciting time to get into healthtech!