The Kent and Medway Digital and Data Involvement Group has been set up to ensure that the views and needs of our people and communities are at the heart of how we develop digital and data services across Kent and Medway.
The digital and data involvement group will:
- bring voices from our populations to inform the projects and workstreams on digital and data,
- support effective co-design and co-production, and
- help to maintain insight informed approach to the use of data and digital.
16 digital citizens have now been recruited. Membership includes carers, people with lived experience of physical and mental health conditions, people aged 18 to 25, ethnically diverse communities, people living in areas of deprivation, rurality and coastal communities, Healthwatch, the Nigerian Association, Rethink MIND and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Kent Social Enterprise.
The involvement group has received training and will formally begin in their role in April 2025.
Mayur Vibhuti, chief clinical information officer, NHS Kent and Medway, said: “The digital and data involvement group is about creating a new way of working, one that’s built on trust, transparency, and shared purpose. This is a major step forward in how we embed public voice into the digital future of health and care.”
Isabel Clark, senior digital and data involvement manager, Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, said: “Working in partnership with people and communities allows for a richer understanding of needs and challenges, ensuring that services are shaped in a way that truly works for the people they’re designed to help.”
Michelle Gardner, chair of the digital and data involvement group, said: "I am delighted to have been invited to lead this diverse group and support our professionals, committed to advancing digital innovation in healthcare, with our communities at the heart of influence.
Our members bring their experience, knowledge and networks to amplify the voices of patients and communities across Kent and Medway.”
Further information about the involvement group will be shared over the next few months.
Find out more on the Health Innovation Success Kent, Medway, Sussex website.