Joining NHS test and trace

I recently joined the NHS test and trace team and I wanted to get a quick blog post out to mark the occasion, before too much time passed.

Head of inclusive design

My new role is head of inclusive design (I feel very lucky to be able to say that). The inclusive design team are responsible for helping test and trace to meet the needs of excluded groups.

We’re a multi-disciplinary team that are responsible for a range of things including…

• helping with the design and delivery of services
• setting standards for accessibility and inclusive design
• helping teams across test and trace to work in more inclusive and accessible ways

Heads of user-centred design

I also work closely with the other "heads of" roles, including…

• the heads of profession – the people who lead the design, design-ops, user research and content design functions
• the heads of UX (user experience) – the people who lead the user-centred teams on specific services

Working across different orgs

The work is spread across different organisations. I work for the department of health and social care (DHSC). But NHS digital and Public Health England and other orgs are involved too.

Being spread out has its challenges, but it also means that there are some great teams involved with doing this work. I feel like I’m discovering new people every day, so if you’re reading this and your working on test and trace (or anything similar) feel free to get in touch.

A step up

I feel honoured to be able to work on something like this, alongside some user-centred people that I really look up to.

I’m hoping some of their experience rubs off, as this role definitely feels like a step up for me.

Weeknotes?

I can’t promise week notes but I hope to be able to share more about what I’m working on, as I go.