What we're learning from our work improving health in our communities
We’ve just launched SH:24, a new 24/7 sexual health service that offers free self-testing and rapid results by text message to people in Lambeth and Southwark.
In the last week I have been struck by the different conversations the NHS tries to have with the public, and how they can seem in conflict.
We've examined projects we funded between 2005 and 2010 for lessons about what works to make an initiative successful and sustainable. This is what we found.
When we were asked to reflect on the year that ends, an overriding theme flowed through each individual’s anecdotes and reflections: that it is people not institutions or companies that drive change and improve lives.
This month we witnessed the launch of the Guy's and St Thomas' Bright Ideas Fund, a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and the Charity to support innovative ideas that help improve healthcare and also have commercial potential.
So why is there such a sense of joy at the Charity this week? Well, we have finally secured the site and partnerships to enable Ronald McDonald House Charities to build a stunning new facility for 59 families to stay in close to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
We have just published our Annual Report for 2013/14 – a time to reflect on the range and scale of the Charity’s work, and the difference we are making to the health and wellbeing of people locally.
Last week I was asked “how do you find entrepreneurs?” I have to confess my answer was pretty weak, “you know one when you see one” was the essence of it.
Sometimes, as we get older, eating or drinking adequate amounts can become more difficult. In serious cases, this can lead to malnutrition or dehydration.
The more I think about innovation, and the more I talk to people about it, the more I think that the way the NHS approaches innovation is wrong.