In November 2021 we held elections for our Health and Social Care Council, welcoming back several existing members as well as saying congratulations to two new members: Phillipa Winter from Softcat, and Sally Rennison from Patients Know Best.
Below, Phillipa and Sally have taken the opportunity to introduce themselves to the wider techUK membership and set out some of their ambitions for the Health and Social Care Council in 2022.
To find out more about the council and see the full list of members, please see here.
Phillipa Winter
Account Chief Technologist in Health and Social Care and Central Government, Softcat
I am thrilled to be joining the Health and Social Care Council in 2022. As a new member my aims and ambitions within this Council with the many wonderful talented leaders are limitless. The early opportunity is to bring my 27 years of experience as a clinician and latterly as Chief Informatics Officer working in the NHS, to offer interpretation between the provider and supplier world.
My current role as Account Chief Technologist in Health and Social Care and Central Government at Softcat, offers me a great opportunity and the privilege of access to many partners and suppliers within the technology ecosystem, both in the UK and across the Globe.
My desire to champion the use of emerging technologies in the sector and evaluate first-hand their application to communicate how technology and analytics can deliver successful outcomes in this sector. Technology has always been present in my personal and working life and it has certainly supported my previous employers in major change and transformation programmes to assist in successful health and social care outcomes.
Transitioning from a lengthy career in the public sector to the private technology industry, I am enthusiastic about being part of a council that can develop a comprehensive policy platform with clear asks of government on behalf of the industry and health and social care ecosystem.
I hope to learn from the others in the Council and develop our relationship with government and regulators to build the right market conditions for technology to thrive. It is vital we support a digitally literate and skilled workforce to ensure we can progress the adoption and deployment of innovation. Technology should be the golden thread through all transformation programmes and strategies, by supporting the sector it is my ambition as part of the council to work with my talented peers to collaborate across sectors and learn best practice, improve productivity, reduce harm, facilitate growth, and offer value for money by working hand in hand.
Sally Rennison
Vice President of Sales, Patients Know Best
Since I started my career in the Health and Social Care sector, techUK is an organisation I have learned from, contributed to, and watched grow and evolve. This evolution reflects the members who form techUK, and is also a testament to the Councils who run each sector group. Towards the end of 2021, the organisation I work for, Patients Know Best, became a member of techUK for the first time, looking to expand the opportunities for our staff and our business. One of the areas we were keen to engage in was the Council, and I was fortunate enough to be able to run for my organisation.
Given the extremely high calibre of individuals running, it came as quite a shock when I was successfully elected to the Council. As a result, I am determined to commit as much as I can over the next three years.
I am excited to be able to contribute my own experiences and ensure a strong representation of smaller businesses that make up the Health and Social Care members, alongside the medium and larger enterprises. More so than ever this is a fast-moving time for Health and Social Care and the role of technology has never been more important to contribute to changes that are required to ensure a continuous development to sustainable healthcare delivery. As a council member, I am looking forward to continuing to drive and support the needs of critical tech organisations and ensure the council is constantly evolving to be able to provide this support and guide key stakeholders in the requirements and guidance to ensure continual improvements.
Finally, being on the council is not just an opportunity to contribute through input but also to learn for myself, my organisation, and my industry, from the wealth of experience of those already on the Council, and the members the council represents, and to continue to forge strong relationships that underpin the ecosystem needed to support successful healthcare delivery.