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Three Bourne Education Trust students, Maryam, Simran and Alan, have been presented with the prestigious Tim Spencer Award at the second Brooklands Innovation Academy which took place at Brooklands Museum.

On 3rd October 2023, the students from across North West Surrey were presented with the award by Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (ASPH), in partnership with the Bourne Education Trust.

Local students in Year 5 and above were invited to submit a blog post on ‘How can technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) help the NHS to improve its services for patients?’

This topic was chosen as the technology around us is constantly improving and evolving and we’re now at an early stage where advanced technology and AI is being used within the health and care sector. An example of this is the dermatology photo hub led by ASPH within a GP surgery in Staines, where AI technology is used to analyse the mole or lesion of a concerned patient. The AI platform is then able to decide the level of risk before it is reviewed by a dermatologist.

ASPH Medical Director, Dr David Fluck, said: “We wanted to get students thinking about of the role of technology and AI in the NHS and how they can be used to benefit the care of our patients and we received some amazing blog posts.

The entries received included some really innovative ideas. This included the use of chat bots to answer queries and schedule appointments, robotic surgeries, as well as training and education - many of which are being used in healthcare and other sectors already.”

Penny Alford, Chief Education Officer for Bourne Education Trust, said: “We were delighted to celebrate our students in winning this award. Their ideas around the use of artificial intelligence and technology in healthcare were innovative and well researched. Our young people have such a keen interest in this topic and it makes me feel that the future is in safe hands!”

The Tim Spencer Award commemorates Tim Spencer, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, who was the first medical director appointed for St Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust in 1992, who sadly passed away in 2021.

Each of the three winners were presented with a certificate and an engraved award by Stephen Fash, former Chief Executive of St Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust and Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust, and Bernadette Spencer (Dr Butler), a former member of the Obstetric and Gynaecology medical team at St Peter’s Hospital. The three winners will also receive a tour of a hospital, as well as mentorship for one year.

Also on the day, ASPH consultant anaesthetist, Dr Josie Jones was part of the lineup of inspirational guest speakers working in STEM careers and spoke about her work.

The Clinical Education team as well as colleagues from HR also attended the Brooklands Innovation Academy. The Clinical Education team ran a very engaging workshop for students, focusing on their role to support clinical colleagues by providing many opportunities for them to train in simulated clinical environments. The HR team attended the evening event, where they were able to meet young people interested in STEM careers and talk to them about the range of career pathways available in the NHS.