The West of England AHSN Link Directors Network is a community of engaged and experienced individuals drawn from our membership organisations and our Innovation and Growth team. They are generally senior decision makers, with a role and interest in facilitating the adoption of innovative technologies and practices within their own organisations.

The network acts as a key point of contact between our member organisations and our Innovation work, not only allowing members to hear about our work, but also to play an active role in shaping and disseminating relevant programmes within their organisations.

Link Directors play a pivotal role in helping the AHSN understand the needs and priorities of the local system. This, in turn, allows us to stimulate and encourage relevant innovations through our challenges and calls.

They also provide feedback on new innovations being implemented in their organisations and help us to promote relevant national programmes such as NHS Innovation Accelerator, the Innovation Technology Programme and the Accelerated Access Pathway to relevant colleagues.

Through the Link Directors the AHSN gains great insight to the needs of member organisations, in return the Link Directors nominated by our members benefit from:

  • Access the information on the latest new products and services with a potential to support improvements in their organisation’s service delivery
  • Trial new products and services here in the West of England
  • Test new pathways for the delivery of health care enabled by the use of innovative products
  • Exchange knowledge and ideas with other service providers and health experts to learn about the common challenges and solutions when working on complex health interventions.
  • Hear about the latest development opportunities for staff in their organisation through our training opportunities.
  • Develop relationships with other Link Directors from across the West of England, to grow our West of England innovation and improvement community

Each of our member organisations nominates a member of the Network, normally with a reserve. If you would like to know more please contact urszula.kapoulas@nhs.net