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Igniting Change Podcast Season 3: Episode 20
Rachel Hope, Director of Digital Services at the NHS, joins us to discuss how her career beginnings in civil service led to her impressive career utilising technology to bring services and care into people’s homes.
3 min read
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Technology is a huge part of our lives and although we were already experiencing a digital shift pre-COVID, the pandemic only encouraged us to respond to changes and the new way of living.
In this episode, our hosts are joined by Rachel Hope! Despite currently being on Maternity leave, she joins us to discuss her career and experiences about how technology can be utilised to provide better services and better policies.
Tune in to the full episode below!
Meet Rachel
Rachel Hope is a senior civil servant who has had a varied career across different government departments. From tax to education to working in the NHS Vaccinations programs, she has a wide range of experience from her career so far!
She always wanted to work in public service so, after finishing her Master’s degree, she was successful in joining the civil service graduate scheme. This provided a huge learning opportunity for Rachel as she worked in a number of roles across research, analysis, and policy-making.
But why the shift to a role in the digital space?
After initially being surprised by how out of touch policy-making was when Rachel first started, she found that digital provided the ability to really understand how people interact with Government.
The adaptations Rachel originally saw in the digital space are evident in other government areas, such as policy-making. The focus on research, testing, and iteration, ensures that digital is no longer just to enable or communicate policies, but it is now part of the policy itself.
I think it’s incredibly important to talk about digital government and what that is, so essentially using technology to bring services into everyday lives, into people’s homes
About the NHS
The National Health Service (NHS) is the UK’s healthcare service, delivering care and support to help patients take control of their health and wellbeing.
This year, July 5th marked 75 years since the NHS was founded and there have been many transformations within the organisation’s services since then.
With numerous apps, websites, online services, and much more, the NHS Digital services support the wider network of hospitals, GPs, and individual patients across the UK.
The ability to utilise technology allows the NHS to improve lives by enhancing care, collecting vital data, and providing innovative services.
Listen to the full episode here
To hear more of the incredible conversation with Rachel listen now using the links below!
For more things tech for good, stay tuned to our blog or shout us a holla to get in touch with us, we would love to hear from you 💚
Published on July 7, 2023, last updated on July 11, 2023
