Pioneer of older people's care on top innovators list

Friday 31 October 2014


Dr Jugdeep Dhesi with her Top Innovators 2014 award

Dr Jugdeep Dhesi, co-founder and clinical lead of the proactive care of older people undergoing surgery service (POPS) at Guy’s and St Thomas’, is one of the top 50 innovators in healthcare.

She is named on the Top Innovators 2014 list published by Health Service Journal magazine.

The judges who chose the top 50 innovators said that, as co-founder of POPS, Dr Dhesi can lay claim to an idea that has had national impact.

The POPS team reduces the risk of post-operative complications in older people by seeing patients before and after surgery, and exploring not only their physical but also their psychosocial and functional well-being.

One of the people who nominated her for the list said: “Dr Dhesi merits inclusion due to her tireless work establishing new ways of working across established surgical pathways, benefiting both safety and the clinical experience of the patient.”

The judges said of Dr Dhesi’s work: “We will all be frail older people sooner or later. She is bridging gaps and is working in an area which doesn’t always get the interest it should.”

Sarah Barclay, co-director of the Evelina Resolution Project, is also in the Top Innovators 2014 list.

During 20 years as a BBC journalist, she encountered many clinicians and families who were wrestling with difficult medical dilemmas – and who were often disagreeing.

After leaving broadcasting, she trained as a mediator and began to explore whether this might be a method of resolving such difficulties – and the Medical Mediation Foundation was established in 2010 as a result.

Since early last year, the organisation has been providing its services to Evelina London Children’s Hospital to help our staff to find ways to reduce conflict with parents.

The judges said of Sarah’s work: “She’s trained 400 staff at Evelina London in recognising, understanding and managing conflict. She’s now looking to scale up a restorative justice approach to mediation, which we think is really innovative.”

Last updated: March 2022

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