Showcasing healthcare scientists at Queen Victoria Hospital

Victoria Chalker, Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England, found out first-hand how passionate staff are at Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH) when she visited on Monday 19 February.

A Clinical Scientist by background, Victoria met some of the hospitals own Healthcare Scientists who provide a range of integral services which make a life-changing difference to the life of patients.

As part of the visit she saw the hospital’s Sleep Disorder Centre, Corneoplastics Unit; Histopathology lab; Medical Photography studio; and Prosthetics lab – the largest maxillofacial prosthetics lab in Europe, all of which employ healthcare scientists. Victoria spent time talking to the teams and finding out more about how the hospital is investing in developing its workforce and growing the next generation of Healthcare Scientists.

She was joined by Grace Weston, Healthcare Science Network Lead at NHS Sussex.

Commenting on the visit Victoria said: “Queen Victoria Hospital is a real gem and an example of multidisciplinary teams genuinely working together and finding new ways to be more efficient. I had the pleasure of speaking to one of the patients who has been coming to the hospital for the last 18 years and says it just keeps getting better and better and how respectful staff are when interacting with patients. You  can really see this in action. Queen Victoria Hospital does so much for patients and has a long history of helping those in need and I’ve learnt a lot, thank you.”

James Lowell, Chief Executive Officer at Queen Victoria Hospital, said: “As a Healthcare Scientist by background, I’m really proud of the incredible work our Healthcare Scientists do every day. We want to help raise the profile of Healthcare Science both regionally and nationally because these roles are fundamental in providing high-quality care to patients, both here at QVH and more widely across the NHS, and the roles are so varied – not all Healthcare Scientists work in a lab! Thank you to Victoria and Grace for taking the time to visit us.”

Pictured: Victoria Chalker, Deputy Chief Scientific Officer for NHS England (pictured fourth left) visiting the Sleep Disorder Centre team at QVH. (From left to right: Ross Hanwell, Highly Specialised Respiratory Physiologist; James Lowell, Chief Executive Officer; Tania Cubison, Chief Medical Officer; Victoria Chalker; Grace Weston, , Healthcare Science Network Lead at NHS Sussex; and Nisa Pinto, Sleep Physiology Service Lead and acting Healthcare Science Lead.

For more information, please email the QVH Press Office at qvh.communications@nhs.net