De-implementation - Making space for Innovation

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.

Patrick Arnold

Programme Manager Innovation Adoption

Patrick Arnold is an Innovation Adoption Programme Manager with a focus on Primary Care. He joined us from a medical device sterilisation company working across the public and private healthcare sectors, and prides himself on not taking a ‘one size fits all’ mindset but instead finding a collaborative approach to explore the best possible solution for the partner that he is collaborating with.

In addition to his previous role Patrick has a wealth of experience in private healthcare with a focus on sales, business development and commercial activities. He has led and delivered large scale implementation projects with major acute NHS trusts which led to him undertaking an MSc in Health Management and a dissertation that focused on the spread and adoption of the Long-Term Conditions (LTC) Framework.

Patrick is passionate about finding ways to enhance the great work already being undertaken in primary care in Wessex and nationally to improve healthcare practices for clinicians, non-clinicians and patients.

Simeon Kent

Programme Manager Innovation Adoption

Before joining Health Innovation Wessex, Simeon was working in one of the UK's Lighthouse projects setting up an automated Covid-19 mass testing facility in response to the Covid pandemic. Simeon's role within this team was as the Laboratory Operations Manager, ensuring the streamlined implementation of automation including liquid handling robots and loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) technology.

Before this he was working with Southampton Primary Care Ltd as part of the Business Development and Support team who pioneered the 'out of hours' primary care service using 'Hubs' for Southampton.

Simeon is passionate about pioneering technologies and even more passionate about seeing them used to improve the experience of NHS patients.

Linda du Preez

Programme Co-ordinator Innovation Adoption

Linda is a Programme Co-ordinator for Innovation Adoption.

Linda is an experienced Occupational Therapist who worked for over 20 years as a clinician and team leader specialising in supporting those living with frailty to stay independent at home for longer and live the lives they choose. Prior to joining Health Innovation Wessex, she worked in a training role educating managers and staff on the importance of managing wellbeing in their workplaces. Her current role enables her to combine her passion for innovation and evidence-based practice, with her skill and experience.

Linda's role involves supporting the work of the Innovation Adoption directorate by co-ordinating spread and adoption of health and care innovations across Wessex.

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.

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.

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.

Sophie Barton

Advanced Analyst

Sophie joined the Insight Team as Advanced Data Analyst in 2019 and has over a decade of experience working in the NHS. She holds a Master’s degree and worked for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit prior to joining HIW.

Her expertise lies in hospital data sets, where she specialises in transforming complex data into actionable insights that support healthcare planning and delivery. Beyond her professional life, she is a mother of two young children who enjoys spending time outdoors with her family. She is driven by a commitment to making a meaningful impact through data.

Andrew Sibley

Evaluation Programme Manager (Mixed Methods)

Andrew joined Health Innovation Wessex in 2018 and is an Evaluation Programme Manager in the Insight team. Before this, he worked in academia as a mixed methods Senior Research Fellow, holding roles at King's College London and the University of Southampton. He has also worked in a research capacity directly for NHS and local authority organisations.

Andrew brings a wide range of expertise in using advanced quantitative and qualitative methods to support real-world evaluations of innovation. His research interests include the application of implementation theories/models/frameworks to support innovation adoption, evaluation of new care models and new roles to support long-term conditions, and medicines management.

What drives his work is a deep commitment to improving patient care and promoting proven innovation to improve health services. Andrew is passionate about bridging the gap between research and evaluation approaches to benefit the real world assessment of innovation.

Outside of work, he enjoys running, badminton, and travelling the world with his family.

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.

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!