The Faculty of Health and Medicine is hosting an inaugural lecture by Honorary Professor Phil Horner, Executive Director at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT).

His lecture entitled "Dialects of Data: maximising the power of numbers in the NHS" will be delivered in HI One at 5pm on November 11.

Professor Horner has worked in the NHS for more than a quarter of a century, building a career that has spanned roles including mental health social worker, psychological therapist, team leader, service manager, Director of Business Intelligence, and now Executive Director at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust (LSCFT).

Since 2021, Phil and his team have also been key collaborators within the CHICAS group on data science projects across our MSc and PhD programmes, particularly those focused on access to mental health services in the region and inequalities in access to care. This work has led to the emergence of the ALASCA group (Aligning Lancashire and South Cumbria Academic Research to Practice), which brings together academics from Lancaster University (LU) and colleagues from LSCFT to undertake research that uses data science to directly inform service improvement. Some of this work will now continue to develop further through the recently funded NIHR Mental Health Research Group.

This is the fourth in a series of FHM inaugural lectures, which are distinguished academic events providing a unique opportunity for newly appointed honorary Professors to share their pioneering research, highlight their achievements in research, innovation, engagement, and teaching, and showcase the societal impact of their work.

The first lecture was by Professor Ailsa Brotherton, Director of Improvement, Research and Innovation at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; the second by Professor Mark Spencer, a local GP and founder of Healthier Fleetwood and Chair of Fleetwood Trust ; and the third by Professor Vishnu Chandrabalan Consultant Surgeon and Head of Data Science at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Register here for the talk in HI One Lecture Theatre.