Innovation shaping future of medicine
Health correspondent Mark Smith pays tribute to the professionals who are exploring pioneering procedures to improve patients’ lives
In any career or line of work, it’s easy to go along with the status quo. When you are taught a particular skill by a manager, or shown how to use a certain piece of equipment, you want to carry out that task to the best of your ability without questioning their methods.
Even if you have been in the same job for many years, but can see the flaws in an organisation’s way of working, it can prove difficult to put your head above the parapet and make suggestions of improvements for fear of rocking the boat. And let’s face it, most of us are way too busy juggling a hectic workload and a jam-packed social life to come up with any concrete alternatives anyway.
But in spite of the enormous demands placed on our NHS, there appear to be many staff motivated to make positive changes to the way they work to benefit both themselves and their patients.
It is encouraging to see that innovation is rife in our health service and is coming from all walks of life, from nurses and carers to scientists
and tech experts.
So, in this edition we will explore some of the most exciting breakthroughs in the public and private sector which will shape the future of patient care.
Firstly, we’ll look at how the Welsh public is using the latest technology to improve their health, and how these potentially life-changing pieces of kit are supported from the idea stage to implementation.
Then we highlight some of the most exciting innovations coming out of our health service today, including the futuristic PillCam and the chemotherapy backpack which will allow some cancer patients to have their treatments at home.
There are also some groundbreaking apps which are empowering patients to take control of their health, such as Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s SMS text-messaging service ChatHealth.
And some of our leading private hospitals are pioneering new surgical techniques in a bid to speed up patients’ rate of recovery.
But it must be said that the best innovations don’t necessarily have to involve huge advances in technology or cost millions of pounds to get off the ground.
They could be as simple as using a better way of greeting people, or making basic changes to living spaces to ensure the most vulnerable in society are more comfortable and relaxed.
I hope you enjoy reading this edition, and who knows, it might inspire you to make a few beneficial changes to your own working environment.