Twenty staff from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust have been selected to be in the initial cohort to form the first ever Horizon Fellowship Programme.
The trust employ more than 6,000 staff members across their two main hospital sites, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital and community based clinics.
The programme, which is ran in collaboration with CW+, the trusts official charity, will look to identify and nurture new innovators who are embedded in roles within the trust and local healthcare systems.
Fellows will take the lead on innovation projects happening within the trust that aim to help to improve patient care and experience.
Everyone on the fellowship programme currently works in or are connected to the trust and hold health related roles from health advisors to managers to nurses and physiotherapy.
There are a diverse range of participants in the programme, who will cover the four trust clinical divisions:
- Emergency and Integrated Care; Planned Care;
- Women, neonatal, children and young people,
- HIV/GUM and Dermatology
- Clinical Support
Those selected will be allocated twelve protected days along with funding from CW Innovation in order to support on the delivery of their innovation projects.
What a fantastic day with Cohort 1 of the Horizon Fellowship Programme & our first ever 20 Fellows! We are thrilled to be partnering with @DHealthLDN to deliver such an exciting programme and we look forward to seeing what staff achieve as a result #CWInnovation pic.twitter.com/lii61XjVpB
— CW+ (@cwpluscharity) March 9, 2022
Chris Chaney, Chief Executive at CW+, said: “We are delighted to announce the twenty talented Fellows from across the Trust who have been accepted onto our new Horizon Fellowship programme, which presents a fantastic opportunity to provide staff with the support they need to bring their innovation project ideas to life. With such a diverse range of innovative staff, we are set for an exciting year ahead, which will see us rejuvenate how we work, helping improve patient care and experience across the Trust.”
All those involved in the Horizons Fellowship will have access to workshops, resources and events, as well as the opportunity to ask questions to leading sector experts during a range of taught modules on subjects like change management and service improvement.
Miss Natalie Nunes, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This fellowship couldn't have come at a better time. I am excited to connect with others and to learn how to help my project fly and improve patients’ experiences.”
