Innovation Champions
Jon Higham
Consultant in Oral Medicine
Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO)
Jon is a consultant in oral medicine at Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry and Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) at Birmingham Community NHS Foundation Trust. As a CCIO he is responsible for providing a clinical voice and leadership in digital health transformation and has led the implementation of video consultation in the Trust. He is particularly keen to foster digital innovation and transformation to support the delivery of high quality patient care and is happy to be contacted to discuss ideas
Darren Castle
Research Champion- Learning Disabilities Division
My name is Darren and I’ve worked as a highly specialist physiotherapist in BCHC’s Community Learning Disabilities Division for more than 20 years. I love working with adults with intellectual disabilities and supporting them with their healthcare needs.
I am currently a research champion in the LD Division at BCHC. I completed a Clinical Academic Training Programme (CATP) Internship in 2013 and was awarded my Master’s in Health Research, (MRes) at the University of Birmingham in 2015. I also completed my Masters to Doctorate Bridging Programme in 2016, again in Birmingham University. I have recently been awarded funding from HEE, for the Advanced Clinical Practice course (MSc) at the University of Birmingham, which runs until 2023.
I believe research and innovation is key to BCHC providing best practice to our service users and contributing to evidence- based practice.
I can offer information and support if you wish to get involved in research and innovation at any point. The LD Division also has a Research Interest Group, providing regular meetings to support staff active in research and staff interested in becoming involved in research. Please do contact me with any research queries. I am always happy to help and look forward to hearing from you.
Andrea Grace
Chief Clinical Information Officer
andrea.grace@nhs.net
My name is Andrea, I am one of Chief Clinical Information Officers (CCIO) at Birmingham Community NHS Foundation Trust and am currently leading on the development of the Core BCHC electronic patient record (EPR). Prior to taking on my current role and following a long career as a paediatric physiotherapist both in acute and community settings, I worked as an operational manager for Children’s therapy services. Now I work closely with clinical staff across the BCHC family trying to ensure that the right information is made available, at the right time, to support the delivery of high quality patient care. The role of CCIO means that I am responsible for providing the clinical voice and leadership to support our digital transformation both now and in the future – technology is here to stay and our commitment to research and innovation will ensure we are best placed to provide our staff and service users with the right solutions into the future.