We sat down with Oliver Lake, PRSB’s new Transition CEO, to ask him a few questions about his experience, what drives him, and a bit about life outside of work.

What initially drew you to your field, and how has that passion evolved?

My first job at age 16 was in Data Input and IT support at a GP surgery after finishing my GCSEs (my mum was a receptionist there) …and I rapidly learnt about the importance of both having the right tools for the job and how vital training is to use clinical systems properly.  I will always remember the practice manager tearing her hair out because of the inconsistencies in quality between different teams, meaning that reporting was mixture of system-generated data, forms and in some cases referring back to the Lloyd George notes!  Since then, I have always had an interest in technology and data, and I also spent 15 years working in NHS communications and transformation to broaden my horizons.

What skill or expertise do you bring to the table at the PRSB?

I hope relevant background and experience in how to make change happen, taking the lesson that if you are over ambitious, persistent and determined you will see far greater improvement than if you hadn’t had such high aspirations in the first place.

What’s a recent project or initiative you’ve been involved in that you’re particularly proud of?

There are so many PRSB projects that I am proud of, but I’m going to pick our recent work on Person Characteristics for NHS England where we gathered intelligence on the clinical information requirements related to person characteristics – to help identify data items which are routinely needed when treating patients, but which aren’t generally available within IT systems in use in the NHS.  It was an incredibly thorough piece of work, delving into specifics which are vital to maintain patient safety and also dignity and respect.  Both our team (Sarah Jackson, James Critchlow and Steve Bentley) were amazingly dedicated to the quality of consultation and analysis, but also the NHS England team (Cath Chilcott and colleagues) were a delight to work with.  I really hope the report can be taken forward and we will support this as much as we can.

What difference do you think standards can/do make to health and care?

I don’t think that the vitality of standardised high-quality data can be underestimated – even little seemingly inconsequential differences in recording data can have a huge impact on patient outcomes and the ability to use data for population health.  More than that, listening to our patient representatives tell their stories (and I’m sure we can all relate to this) about having to repeat history, tests and personal preferences when they move between providers really incentivises us to solve that problem.

What changes do you hope your role/PRSB can make to health and care?

I want PRSB to provide more system leadership so that high quality standardised health and care data enables better and safer care, empowering innovation and building trust in technology-driven health such as AI.

If you could make one change to the health and care sector, what would it be?

To invest in implementation and evaluation, rather than just the procurement of a product of solution.

What is your favourite thing about your job?

The people – both in the PRSB, but working with our amazing clinical leads, patient representatives and across with our members and partners – I’ve not met anyone who does not want to make things better or is negative about the potential from the analogue to digital shift. What is so enjoyable about working at PRSB is that one minute you can be in the detail of diabetes, then it will be social care, then it’ll be maternity – there is so much learning possible by working across the sector and across the 4 nations.

Do you have any hobbies or talents?

In our house, painting is often referred to as my ‘hobby’, although I would much rather be riding my Vespa, or playing darts!  My ’talent’ is playing the piano by ear – you name a song, and I’ll bang it out!