Leading UK CIOs, CDOs and CTOs in healthcare

As CIO at Marie Stopes, Daniela Weber works for the largest provider of abortion and contraception services in the world, having been around for over 40 years and operating in 37 countries worldwide.

Speaking with CIO UK earlier this year, Weber discussed the growing threats of cyber attacks facing the organisation, and while no major attack has been successful, Weber noted the threat of leaking personal information as one of the more common threats she is protecting against.

Weber said: “It’s always been very important to us that we protect that information and that no-one – whether it’s opposition, whether it’s family members – can access the data and know what services a certain person has received from us. There’s always been a lot of focus on that, even in the past, and of course now as well.

“We have an ongoing programme at the moment where we’re looking at what technology we can implement and if our users are educated – because that’s probably a bigger risk sometimes,” she added. “It’s really [about] staying on top of the legislation, staying on top of the threats, staying on top of the technology options and turning that into an ongoing programme of work where we keep improving and keep adding new solutions as well.”

Digital Programme Director for Sussex & East Surrey Sustainability Transformation Partnership, Mark Watson has brought success in many forms, one of which is the creation of a collaborative culture across 24 health and care organisations and 200 general practices.

Watson achieved this by working on shared problems running through the practices, which in turn attracted targeted investments to deliver real-time information sharing for direct care and a pseudonymised linked data service.

Watson aims to bring both patients and professional services together to redesign the way patients self-manage their care.

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust CIO David Walliker has implemented a range of digital initiatives that are helping to save lives at the two hospitals his Trust covers.

His team recently launched the Livernerds Lab, the first digital testing space of its kind in the NHS. The facility consists of a smart room modelled on a hospital bed and a smart house with a bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Each is fitted out with a range of digital devices that can be tested before the NHS can introduce them to help transition patients from a hospital bed to their own home.

Prior to joining Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2015, Walliker served Head of Informations at CWP NHS Foundation Trust and as National ICT Manager at the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust.

Read next: Liverpool addresses healthcare inequalities with Livernerds Lab testbed

Jane Carolanfocuses her tech deployments at the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) on business change and benefits management, which has recently led her to expand the uptake of national healthcare systems and provide agile technologies that pivot to the needs of users.

Carolan was appointed National Director for Health Business Services (HBS) at HSE in January 2015. She joined the organisation in 2011 as National Director of Corporate Planning and Corporate Performance and has also served as its National Director of HBS, Interim CIO, CEO eHealth Ireland, Deputy National Director of HBS.

Her academic qualifications include an MBA in Healthcare Management and a postgraduate diploma in corporate governance from University College Dublin and three bachelor’s degrees: one in physiotherapy from Trinity College Dublin another in French and Spanish from the Open University, and a third in public management from the Institute of Public Administration.

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust CIO Chris Reynolds describes himself as a hands-on problem solver with a track record of transformation and an appetite for new challenges and technologies. These attributes that helped him lead a highly successful health informatics team to a range of impressive achievements since he joined the trust in 2017.

In 2018, his team deployed secure public WiFi across 30 sites, paperless working for 250 Health Young Minds staff in 20 locations and more paperless working in children’s services, which has helped save 15 minutes for every appointment by giving staff complete and structured health records.

His team has also been empowered to create their own digital solutions. In 2017, one of them developed a virtual reality therapy treatment for victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. The system can now be used for any site-related trauma.

CIO 100 regular Richard Corbridge was appointed Director of Innovation at Boots UK in April 2019. In the newly created role within the Boots Transformation team, Corbridge is helping to develop personalised omni-channel shopping by creating a “store of the future”, both online and on the high street.

Corbridge claimed the top spot in the CIO 100 in 2017 for his work as CEO of eHealth Ireland, where he led the creation of an individual health identifier, e-referral service, e-pharmacy system and Ireland’s first digital hospital. He also helped develop the infrastructure to support the genomic sequencing of patients with epilepsy.

He then returned to his home county of Yorkshire to take on the job of Chief Digital and Information Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, where he stayed for three years with the aim to solve its infrastructure problems and restore its reputation for innovation.

Read next: Why are so many CIOs leaving the NHS?

NHS Digital Academy CEO Rachel Dunscombe leads a virtual academy that develops the talents of digital leaders in healthcare. She is also Global ARCH Collaborative Lead at healthcare IT data and insights company KLAS Research, Non-Executive Director at the Digital Health Society and Strategic Digital Advisor at the Northern Care Alliance (NCA) NHS Group.

Dunscombe previously served as Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust CIO, leading the trust to be named the most digital organisation in the NHS by NHS England and win DigitalHealth’s Digital Trust of the Year award. Dunscombe was then named Director of Digital for the broader Salford Royal Group.

During 2016 she brokered a partnership between NHS Digital and KLAS research, where she works as a paid researcher and advisory board member. She has also led the setup of a single Azure architecture, a single trust domain and seamless Wi-Fi network for Salford’s eight hospitals and numerous community settings. Dunscombe joined the trust in 2015 after a two-year spell as CIO of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.

Read next: Salford Royal Group Director of Digital Rachel Dunscombe video interview – AI, machine learning and Big Data opportunities