Cohort 4

Lorna Currey

In my 12 months as a Topol Digital Fellow I will explore how natural language processing and speech recognition technologies can enhance communication with Emergency Department patients, aiming to optimise patient care and outcomes.

My Topol fellowship problem / project:

I aim to tackle the problem of poor communication in the Emergency Department (ED), where language barriers often prevent patients from receiving the care they need. The impact of poor communication is far-reaching, affecting every stage of a patient’s ED journey and potentially leading to negative health outcomes. I will investigate the specific communication challenges that patients and colleagues face and explore digital solutions that utilise Speech Recognition and Natural Language Processing for immediate live translation.

By enabling staff to communicate more effectively with patients regardless of their language proficiency, we can improve patient outcomes and ensure that everyone receives the right treatment at the right time. Through this work, I hope to empower my colleagues to provide better care to all patients and make the ED a more accessible and inclusive space. As part of my project, I will also work to increase awareness of digital nursing as a vital specialty within Northampton General Hospital and highlight the valuable contribution nurses make to digital transformation.

I’m a Staff Nurse and Digital Champion at Northampton General Hospital, where I’ve undertaken a variety of roles within the Emergency Department for almost 15 years. Urgent and emergency care has become my area of expertise and passion and I have seen first-hand the challenges faced by both patients and colleagues in this fast-paced, high-pressure environment.

This has led me to becoming deeply invested in exploring the potential of digital technology to transform and enhance the services we provide. Recently, I’ve had opportunity to contribute my nursing expertise to a range of upcoming digital projects within the ED and hope to lead digital transformation in the future. As an aspiring digital nurse, my goal is to create efficient, patient-centered experiences that improve the quality of care in our department. I’m excited to see where the Topol Digital Fellowship will take my career and how I can apply the skills and knowledge gained to my everyday work.