Wirral University Teaching Hospital (WUTH) has released its new strategy focusing on the role of research and innovation up to 2026.
Dr Nikki Stevenson, Medical Director and Deputy CEO, opens the strategy by describing how it “sets out our intention that research and innovation will be recognised as integral to everything we do, and is underpinned by our research and innovation vision: tomorrow’s outstanding care is built on today’s best research.”
The document sets out the trust’s six strategic objectives which include a focus on innovation. Listed under the objective to “be a digital pioneer and centre for excellence”, the trust highlights some key aims; to “use digital technology to reduce waste, automate processes and eliminate bottlenecks”, “empower patients with the data and tools to manage their own health and wellbeing”, “allow business intelligence to drive clinical decision-making” and “use health information to enable population health management for the Wirral”.
Culture, partners and place, capacity and capability and patient experience are the four main components of the strategy, with the document describing how the trust must cultivate and maintain a culture that “supports research as a core component of healthcare for all, embedding research awareness, experience and expertise”, whilst encouraging patients to get involved in innovation practices to help ensure that work meets population need.
Digital tools are to be used to help the trust achieve this. They note a need to “establish a comprehensive communications approach to raise awareness of research and innovation activity facilitated by internal digital platforms, and a multi-media approach for wider stakeholders including patients and the public.”
Focusing on “people and place”, the strategy also sets out the intention to “drive innovation at place and across partners through optimising digital platforms as enablers for data sharing, optimising data to inform priorities and use data intelligence to proactively plan targeted research and innovation for evidence-based care.”
The document goes on to share next steps for implementation, monitoring and review, with the strategy priorities set to be reviewed as part of annual operational and strategic priority planning to ensure that objectives continue to meet changing patient needs, and that delivery momentum is sustained.
You can read the strategy in full here.
