We were very pleased to welcome Professor Meghana Pandit and Dr Trevor Smith to NBT and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust this week.
Prof. Pandit, Co-National Medical Director – Secondary Care, NHS England, and Dr Smith, Regional Medical Director, NHS England SW, visited Maternity services at Southmead Hospital, as well as the new Elective Centre, which is due to open at Southmead this Summer.
Our guests also had a tour of the adult emergency department at the Bristol Royal Infirmary and the children’s emergency department at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.
The visit was a chance to showcase how we plan to deliver on the recently published 10 Year Health Plan for the NHS. For example, aligned to the Government’s three main shifts for the future of health and care, we are:
- Co-designing with a staff an ambitious new Group Digital Strategy to move from analogue to digital and have a growing national reputation in AI, robotics and smart tech. We also highlighted the new Bristol 3D Medical Centre.
- Expanding care beyond hospital walls, through established services like NHS @home and app-based self-monitoring tools that allow people to manage their care from home to support the move from hospitals to communities.
- Focusing on prevention and health equity, including staff health checks and vaccinations, targeted screening for global majority communities, and partnerships to reduce interpersonal violence, to support the move from sickness to prevention.
It was hosted by Professor Tim Whittlestone, Bristol NHS Group Medical and Innovation Officer, with Prof. Pandit and Dr Smith also meeting other senior doctors and specialty leads at both hospitals.
Prof. Whittlestone said: “We were delighted to host Professor Pandit and Dr Smith and had an excellent discussion about key national topics, as well as showcasing some of our services and how we’re ahead of the game in delivering on some areas of the 10 Year Health Plan. Thanks to everyone at both Trusts who supported or took part in the visit.”
