Digital Pioneer Spotlight: Partha Kar

unnamedTo mark Diabetes Week, Partha is the latest in our series of spotlights on the  2016/17 NHS Digital Pioneer Award nominees,

Partha is a Consultant in Diabetes & Endocrinology at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust. He is one of a group of health professionals who designed and developed www.t1resources.uk, a web resource for patients with type 1 diabetes. The group also created a series of online resources alongside health professionals and patients, including a free-to-download ‘comic-book’ to teach patients about their diagnosis and help with treatment, and a series of TED-style talks, available at http://talkingaboutdiabetes.co.uk to raise awareness.

“We’ve been working with NHS England to help raise the profile of Type 1 diabetes via social media, showcasing the challenges and issues on a day-to-day basis whilst also developing access to technology and digital innovations which are aimed at helping to improve care for the condition,” explains Partha, “Social media seemed to highlight the needs or gaps where our initiatives could focus.”

“Apart from Twitter, responses to individual blogs have also served as an exploratory tool, and we’ve also had regular interaction with patients in clinic settings and patient events, locally and nationally. Our interaction with charity organisations such as Diabetes UK and JDRF have further highlighted the need to develop digital tools, aimed at raising awareness- but also about making the issue ‘more fun’.”