Business case development

Ani Haughton

Industry and Innovation Support Assistant

Ani joined Health Innovation Wessex from University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, where she held several administrative roles across various departments.

Ani started her NHS career working in Radiology in Royal Surrey County Hospital before moving to Southampton. Her career with University Hospital Southampton began in the Breast Imaging Unit working with teams covering routine imaging and referred testing. She then moved to Southampton Medical Examiners and assisted with the documentation and registration of the deceased from the hospital, linking her with a wide range of colleagues across numerous departments.

Ani then moved to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Saliva Testing Lab based in Chilworth, working directly with the Managing Director and Senior Leadership team to deliver Covid-19 saliva testing across organisations in the area. Here, Ani found her passion for supporting projects that advance our understanding and use of technology to better our community.

Emily Jiggens

Programme Assistant – Industry and Innovation - NAS

Emily began her career with a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Sciences from 2018 - 2021, publishing her dissertation on the role of CDK4 in the pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer. She then went on to study the Global Master of Public Health at Imperial College London, where, alongside special interests in infectious disease modelling and health protection, she conducted a research project on the barriers to physical activity among young women and girls. Alongside her master's studies, Emily volunteered with Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council, getting involved in a range of health promotion, community engagement, and health inequalities projects. During this time, she also worked as a health advisor at NHS 111, starting off her NHS career.

After completing her Master's degree, Emily was accepted onto the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme in Health Informatics, based in the south east. This course spanned two years and consisted of three placements across Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust's Data Quality Team, Torbay Council's Public Health Team, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board's Population Health Analytics Service. During the graduate scheme, she also completed two further postgraduate qualifications in Healthcare Leadership (Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Award from the University of Birmingham) and Health Informatics (PG Dip from University College London and the University of Manchester).

Emily has joined the Industry and Innovation Team as a Programme Assistant focusing on the needs assessment (NAS) element of the NHS Innovation Service.

Anna Wykes

Programme Manager - Industry & Innovation (Cancer Innovation)

Anna initially joined the Wessex Patient Safety Collaborative (PSC) in August 2019 as a programme coordinator. After working on the COPD Discharge Bundle project and Medicine Safety in Care Homes Programme, she moved to work on the urgent Covid Oximetry at Home programme during the autumn of 2020. Anna then moved to a new post, hosted by Health Innovation Wessex (at that time named Wessex AHSN) and jointly funded by Wessex Cancer Alliance to facilitate the adoption and spread of proven innovations that support earlier and faster diagnosis of cancer.

Anna has worked for various NHS healthcare services as a Registered Children’s Nurse. She has worked in both tertiary and community settings, in a variety of clinical roles, and has a passion for delivering and supporting healthcare services to deliver high quality patient care.

Most recently, as a Nurse Educator, she was responsible for leading the development and implementation of the first regionally delivered Paediatric Nurse Preceptorship Programme in England. This programme harnessed the expertise of the different paediatric teams throughout Wessex to provide standardised study days and documentation that promoted the delivery of high quality training and support to any new children’s nurse employed within the region.

Gemma Snell

Senior Programme Manager Innovation & Industry Needs Assessment Service

Gemma is an Innovation and Industry Programme Manager. Her focus is to support innovators and to foster more innovation in the NHS to improve health outcomes. She is part of the NHS Innovation Service working with colleagues in Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria to assess the needs of innovators wishing to enter or develop within the NHS.

Gemma has a background of working as part of networks, initially the Cardiovascular and Stroke Networks in London seeing the city-wide transformation of stroke services to set up Hyper Acute and Acute Stroke units. She has also worked on pathways for cardiac surgery, both reducing waiting times for elective treatment at tertiary centres but also facilitating inter-hospital transfers for emergency procedures across London.

Gemma was Regional Lead for Diabetes in London working with all areas of the system from public health and primary care to vascular surgery, as well as considering the educational needs of patients and healthcare professionals to manage diabetes. Latterly she was part of the team that set up the first National Diabetes Prevention Programme to reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and other cardiovascular diseases.

During the Covid pandemic Gemma was instrumental in supporting University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust to set up its staff and patient testing programme. She was also closely involved in the trials seeking to understand the most effective testing mechanism and protocols.

Gemma has worked closely with various National Clinical Directors and participated in the HOPE Exchange programme, which took her to Sweden for a whistle-stop tour of the Swedish health and social system. When not working, she thoroughly enjoys outdoor pursuits including cycling, skiing, paddleboarding and trying out different cuisines from around the world.

Peter Rhodes

Senior Programme Manager Industry & Innovation

Peter is Senior Programme Manager for Industry & Innovation. He joined Health Innovation Wessex in 2018 after a 30-year career as a Pharmacist in five frontline technological roles, four in the NHS and one in the pharmaceutical industry.

His professional specialism is in pharmaceutical manufacturing and quality management, but broad experience in secondary care means he can support technology across the clinical disciplines. He is well placed to quickly understand the place an innovation could have in the health system, and to draw together the support needed to bring innovations to fruition.

Peter is committed to supporting healthcare innovators to bring products and services to market that the NHS needs.

Frank Ratcliff

Director of Industry and Innovation

After a PhD in the genetics at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Frank quickly moved into commercial research, first developing, patenting and licensing a tool for functional genomics, and then moving to run a series of crop improvement projects at Syngenta. This work relied heavily on bioinformatics, and after 3 years Frank moved to the scientific computing team to support a range of projects across Europe and the US.

In 2003 Frank moved to Pfizer, and then to Boehringer-Ingelheim in 2007 where he worked on a variety of partnership projects with various NHS organisations. In this capacity he joined Health Innovation Network on secondment 2 days per week in 2013 to support their respiratory programme; a move which turned full-time in 2015 when Frank joined the commercial team of Health Innovation Network. His commercial experience spans all stages from lab research to major global products, supplemented with PRINCE2 and a CIM diploma in marketing.

Frank is married with two children and spends most of his spare time outside, either running, cycling, gardening or fishing.

Leah Gallon

Associate Director - Innovation Adoption

Leah Gallon is the Associate Director Innovation Adoption and is overseeing the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) programme, Medicines Optimisation programme and Primary Care programme.

Leah joined the organisation from an acute NHS trust where she was the Clinical Service Manager for Therapies, and during the Covid pandemic worked as Silver Command and the Trust Covid Operational Lead.

Prior to this she has worked in both acute and community NHS settings around Hampshire.

Leah is a respiratory physiotherapist by background. She has worked in a variety of roles including clinical, operational, transformation and programme lead. She has delivered large scale projects, across systems and has been involved in improving patient pathways, bringing in new digital options and ways of working.

Leah is passionate about making a difference in the NHS after starting her career as a physiotherapist and wanting to improve the quality of care for patients. She is using her skills developed across various roles to make a wider difference within the NHS across the Wessex region.

Fiona Robertson

Programme Manager Innovation Adoption

Fiona is a programme manager within Wessex Patient Safety Collaborative, and within Nationally Prioritised Innovations for Asthma Biologics.

Fiona is a registered nurse with 17 years’ experience working in the NHS. She has spent her career working in several London trusts both in Emergency Departments and Critical Care Units in a variety of roles. During this time, Fiona developed a passion for patient safety and patient experience whilst developing her clinical expertise. In 2017 Fiona took a career break and completed the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race before returning to London to undertake a new role as the Major Trauma Service Lead for south-west London and the wider Surrey and Sussex region.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Fiona decided to move out of London and back to the south coast. She is looking forward to spending more time outdoors and being nearer to her family.

Jenny Curtis

Innovation Adoption Programme Assistant

Jenny is an Innovation Adoption Programme Assistant who joined Health Innovation Wessex in 2023. Jenny’s background is in Further Education support services. She began her career as a Library Assistant at Peter Symonds College, before moving to Eastleigh College where she was a Learner Recruitment and Engagement Executive, supporting the learner journey from application through to enrolment. After 6 months, she progressed to a management position as Adult and Community Learning Team Leader, in which she oversaw and developed the College’s leisure course provision. Jenny received her first-class honours degree in Creative Writing in 2020 and has been featured in a number of publications, including Resurrection Trust – a collection of stories about living sustainably spearheaded by The University of Southampton.

Robert Payne

Programme Manager Innovation Adoption

Rob studied Ancient History at Swansea University and graduated in 1998.

He spent four years working for a regional publication in Liverpool as a sales rep before moving to Australia in 2004.

Rob then spent ten years living and working in Australia (Melbourne) and has nine years of experience working in the travel industry and managing a business (Flight Centre). He has an FA level one coaching qualification and is involved with coaching his sons' football team.

Rob loves to travel and has explored much of Australia as well as many other destinations in Europe, Asia, the South Pacific and America.

Grace Smith

Programme Manager- Patient Safety

Grace started her career in the NHS in 2006 as a Therapy Assistant and continued this role whilst studying to become a physiotherapist. Having graduated in 2013 Grace went on to specialise in acute respiratory care, stepping outside the traditional role of a physio and becoming a Clinical Matron leading an acute respiratory ward, for which she won a national Advancing Healthcare award. Before joining HIW Grace gained a fellowship at Health Education England (South East) as Regional Allied Health Professional (AHP) workforce fellow where she led the regional implementation of the nationally commissioned AHP support workforce transformation programme and AHP apprenticeships, before joining the NHS Frimley AHP workforce team.

Grace is in the final stages of completing an MSc in Professional Practice in Healthcare with her dissertation due in January 2025. For this, Grace is conducting primary research utilising mixed methodology to explore the ‘The lived experience of AHP support workers in the NHS’.

Sarah Willis

Genomics Innovation Director

Sarah joined Health Innovation Wessex in September 2024. She has over 20 years of experience in the NHS, working in clinical, operational and transformation roles. Sarah has a BSc (Hons) Physiotherapy degree from the University of Hertfordshire and is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in business administration. She’s held roles including Acute Therapy Services Manager, and Complex Discharge Manager, before transitioning to transformation. Prior to joining the organisation Sarah worked as Senior Programme Manager with the Central and South Genomic Medicine Service Alliance since 2021. She continues to partner with them in this joint role as Genomics Innovation Director.

Rebecca Player

Evaluation Programme Coordinator (Qualitative)

Beck is an evaluation programme coordinator who has a passion for improving quality of life through mixed methods in health research and evaluation. Her goal is to improve health and care while helping to create positive change.

Previously, Beck worked as an analyst for a local authority, where she compiled Covid data and worked extensively with large datasets, including case rates and vaccination uptake.

Her passion for research began with her PhD, where she earned a mixed methods doctorate on multiple sclerosis and fatigue. She is also a qualified osteopath with experience in a number of multidisciplinary clinics in London.

Outside of work, Beck enjoys playing hockey, staying active through CrossFit, and spending time outdoors with her dogs.

Katherine Gale

Evaluation Programme Manager (Qualitative)

Katherine is the Programme Manager for mental health. Katherine joined the organisation in November 2016 while completing her PhD in Operational Research at the University of Southampton. Katherine has 10 years of research experience in health and social care settings and is passionate about improving care delivery. Her specific areas of interest include person-centred care and improving outcomes for patients and healthcare staff through evidence-based innovation.

Katherine’s PhD formed part of the Care Life Cycle (CLC) project, a multi-disciplinary research programme, which was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to examine the supply and demand of health and social care within an ageing society. Katherine’s PhD focused on the use of telecare to support people with dementia to remain living independently.

Prior to joining Health Innovation Wessex, and while completing her doctoral studies, Katherine held a range of different part-time business support roles. These included working for the Faculty of Health Science at the University of Southampton, and for the National Institute for Health Research Evaluation, Trials and Studies Coordinating Centre (NETSCC). She also worked as a research assistant for an Age-Related Macular Degeneration research project, which involved data collection and patient engagement at the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.

For her Master’s dissertation in Management Science Katherine worked with Hampshire County Council to produce a Position Paper on the use of GPS tracking devices for people with dementia. Her dissertation was awarded the 2009 Award for Excellence by the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust.

Katherine’s current role in the Mental Health team enables her to combine her passion for improving care service delivery, with her skills and experience in research, evaluation, and data analysis.

Jackie Chandler

Evaluation Programme Manager (Qualitative)

Jackie joined Health Innovation Wessex in 2019 as a Programme Manager and specialises in qualitative evaluations. These cover evaluating the implementation of digital solutions, service transformation projects and systems-based evaluations in integrated care systems.

Following a career in general and mental health nursing in the NHS and voluntary sector she moved into health research, where she worked with the Royal College of Nursing and the then National Institute for Clinical Excellence developing guidelines. Jackie previously worked on multi method trials in NHS settings with an emphasis on using qualitative methods in process evaluations. Jackie worked for the international organisation Cochrane for evidence synthesis (systematic reviews of studies) and is an associate editor of their Handbook. Her PhD used complex systems theory to better understand implementation of evidence-based care in healthcare settings, a focus of interest at HIW.

Outside work, Jackie practises yoga and is learning to play the harp.

Philippa Darnton

Director of Insight

Philippa Darnton is Director of Insight at Health Innovation Wessex. She has over 30 years’ experience in the NHS and academia. From her early career as an Allied Health Professional (SLT), she has taken her passions for improving patient care and innovation into roles in strategic planning, operational, service improvement and commissioning.

She joined Health Innovation Wessex in 2015 to lead programmes in evaluation, spread and adoption, pivoting support during the pandemic to rapidly capture learning from front line clinicians and managers through an innovative Rapid Insight approach. Having led a team to deliver over 100 independent evaluations of innovations in health care including digital solutions, her work has contributed critical insights to enable decisions about what innovation benefits patients and our health and care systems and how to implement it. Her large-scale improvement work has included programmes in stroke care, cardiac services and neuro-rehabilitation.

She has a Master's qualification in management from Warwick University, which equips her to manage a house build, two teenage boys and a young cocker spaniel.

Amanda Lees

Evaluation Programme Manager (Qualitative) - Insight

Amanda is an Evaluation Programme Manager in the Insight team at Health Innovation Wessex. Before this, she worked in academia as a qualitative and mixed methods researcher and evaluator, holding roles at the universities of Oxford (Oxford Vaccine Group), Southampton and Winchester. She has also worked in research and evaluation within the NHS, private sector, and local authorities.

Amanda's research focused on health and care, especially the experiences of those receiving and delivering services and she has published many peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and co-edited a book on mixed-methods research in wellbeing and health. Since joining Health Innovation Wessex in 2022, she has enjoyed the challenge of applying research techniques within the complex real world environment, working with multidisciplinary colleagues on a diverse range of projects.

Outside of work, she loves walking especially in the Lake District, spending time with family and friends and is trying to become a regular at Parkrun!

Emily Hunter

Associate Director - Insight

Emily is the Associate Director of the Insight team. She has strategic oversight of the team’s portfolio and of the high quality work we produce. Emily works closely with clients to scope our support and develop our business.

Emily has a background in evaluating global health projects and support Cancer Research UK’s early diagnosis programme, working closely with primary care and system stakeholders. She has led Insight’s evaluation offer for innovators, overseen large evaluations of complex programmes, and regularly delivers sessions to develop understanding and capabilities in evaluation.

Facilitative and calm under pressure, Emily attributes her work style to the huge benefits that come from her love of music, as a performer and a keen audience member.