Health Innovation Manchester has strengthened its Utilisation Management Unit with the appointment of Dr Paula Bennett as the new strategic lead.
Paula first joined the Utilisation Management Unit in October 2016 as its associate director of clinical development and has recently taken on the responsibility of strategic leadership.
A registered adult and children’s trained nurse with 26 years of clinical practice in adult and paediatric emergency nursing, Paula is a Doctorate from University of Salford who evaluated the impact of computerised clinical decision support on frontline care.
The NHS Utilisation Management Unit is a team of experienced clinicians and health analysts who interpret health data in a bid to improve care for patients and families. Its ability to understand data based on clinical expertise can highlight issues that are not fully understood, and this information is then used to plan effective strategic and operational changes, and track improvements.
Paula said: “I am really excited to be leading such a great team; there is a real need across the NHS to improve pathways of care and especially for the most vulnerable in society. We are committed to identifying more effective solutions and make a real difference to patients and families, in particular those who require emergency or urgent treatment.
“Along with our national work, we are delighted that being part of Health Innovation Manchester offers us the scope to work across all organisations in Greater Manchester to support improvement.
"The digital opportunities in this region mean that our blend of clinical analytics can be at the forefront of knowledge creation. We are investing in new visualisation tools which will enable analysts and clinicians to interpret system data with increased flexibility, and develop insights that you can’t gain in any other way. We are also taking the opportunity to meet with health and care organisations to shape a new service focused on embedding lasting change.”
