Two health workers in Teesside are among a select group of experts chosen to run a national population health project to improve the health of our community.
The staff members at our Trust are among a group of 38 population health fellows across the country.
GP trainee Mostafa Helmy and physiotherapist Victoria Butler are running two individual programmes. They aim to improve the physical and mental health outcomes and reduce health inequalities for people across the Tees Valley.
Mostafa’s role
Mostafa is running a programme to digitise maternity records. His role is understanding what the barriers may be to engaging with new technology and how paper records can be reduced.
Mostafa is an award-winning doctor with a reputation for tech innovations. He said: “Currently, many pregnant women are walking around with paper records. This means that clinicians may not have the most up-to-date medical records and information when reviewing these women.
“My role will be to focus specifically on digital inequality.
“I will be looking to understand what some of the barriers may be to engaging with this new digital platform and how we can mitigate this.”
Victoria’s role
Victoria is investigating pathways for patients who have had a stroke. She aims to identify populations with higher rates of stroke admission and developing preventative methods.
Victoria has significant experience in providing therapy to stroke patients. She also completed a prestigious Churchill Fellowship in 2017 where she investigated community stroke rehabilitation and falls in Australia and New Zealand.
She said: “As an allied health professional, I have an opportunity to embed healthy lifestyles and make a difference to stroke awareness and prevention and address health inequalities.
“The aim of the project is to investigate what is known as transient ischemic attack (TIA) pathways. To identify a population health approach, to identify community providers and develop collaborative working.
“This sits alongside the NHS long term plan in helping help prevent avoidable illnesses such as stroke.”
Fellows have been recruited by Health Education England in a wide range of specialisms including:
- Nursing
- Pharmacy
- Medicine
- Speech and language therapy
- Dietetics
- Orthotics
- Physiotherapy
Both Mostafa and Victoria will work part-time, alongside their permanent posts, to encourage and support the development of health strategies across the NHS and wider community.
