In this episode we are in conversation with Dr Sam Shah, who is on the panel at the 2020 conference in October.
Sam is a Global Clinical and Digital Adviser, NHS Clinician, former Director of Digital Development for NHSX, and the Financial Times 4th most influential UK BAME tech leader 2019.
Sam talks about one of the public health projects he worked on that’s still very close to his heart, Healthy Places, Healthy Lives, which aimed to reduce health inequalities. He discusses the fact that health issues are complex, and why we don’t always need more clinicians, instead we need a better way of tackling the wider social determinants.
Sam shares his belief that people should always be at the heart of digital development, and discusses the balancing act in healthcare around the clinical, emotional, and practical needs of patients.
We move on to tele-health, its fast adoption during the pandemic, and the risk of omitting people who can’t access these services and driving a new inequality.
Sam talks about the lack of diversity in leadership roles within the health service, why inclusivity means better outcomes for everyone, and shares his ideas on how the public health sector can be made more diverse and representative of our wider society.
Read the interview here.