Aldarico Velasco, our Clinical Safety Officer, discusses his role in supporting safe digital healthcare systems at Mindray UK, and how the partnerships between suppliers and NHS Trusts is the key to robust clinical safety.
1. Tell us about your professional background and what led you into digital clinical safety
I first qualified as a nurse in the Philippines in 2010 and moved to the UK in 2019. After I qualified and before I practiced nursing, I worked in a tech company and that passion for digital technology remained throughout my clinical career. It was clear how much of a difference the right digital tools could make to people’s work.
In the UK I started at University Hospitals of Derby & Burton on general wards and then moved into emergency department nursing. After that, I became a Digital Nurse Specialist and that’s when I knew I wanted to combine both passions for healthcare and digital technologies. It took a few years but I worked hard to prove I had what it takes to do the role. Once I became a Digital Nurse Specialist and a Clinical Safety Officer, I had a newfound appreciation for the role they play in patient safety, which has always been at the heart of everything I do. I then moved to NHS England’s National Digital Clinical Informatics and Safety team, supporting national systems like the NHS App. After 6 years in the NHS, I was ready to see things from the supplier’s side. That’s when I joined Mindray.
2. How would you describe the role of Clinical Safety Officer?
Essentially I'm the guardian of digital clinical safety within Mindray UK. That doesn’t mean I’m making all the decisions on my own though. It’s a truly collaborative process to ensure that whatever Mindray UK deploys is safe for both patients and staff.
This means collaborating with Mindray’s teams in the UK, Europe and at our global HQ in Shenzhen to understand systems, workflows, technical architecture and review various evidence so we can identify and mitigate potential risks. Input from different stakeholders including clinical, non-clinical, and technical staff is so valuable. Robust clinical safety is always a team effort.
3. Why is strengthening clinical safety governance so critical right now?
Device interoperability and connectivity have the potential to optimise the whole healthcare ecosystem. When you can give clinicians that complete picture of patient health, including the data from devices used before patients even arrive at hospital, their decision-making can be faster, more effective and accurate. As the scale of interoperability, intelligent use of data, and connectivity evolves with tools like M-Connect, it’s vital that Mindray, as a supplier, can demonstrate our digital solutions are safe and reliable before they are deployed.
4. What challenges do NHS Trusts face with digital implementations, and how can suppliers like Mindray help?
I see two main challenges. The first is resource constraints, so having the right infrastructure and manpower available so deployments and assurance processes can be done safely and efficiently.
The second is user engagement and education. Clinical staff need proper support and training to understand the benefits of digital tools. The key is getting them involved early in procurement so they feel ownership and really champion new solutions. Of course, there is also a huge responsibility on our side to demonstrate the benefits clearly and provide comprehensive support to their procurement, assurance, deployment and ongoing maintenance activities.
5. Can you explain your responsibilities under DCB0129 and how this works alongside Trust Clinical Safety Officers?
There are two clinical safety standards that apply to England. DCB0129 is the supplier standard which applies to Mindray UK. DCB0160 is the standard that applies to Trusts or deploying healthcare organisations.
Mindray UK has to demonstrate robust clinical safety management for our digital solutions like M-Connect and e-Gateway through key deliverables like a safety case report and hazard log.
DCB0160 applies to each Trust around deployment. They can't comply without our support. I work with our customers’ CSOs by providing the clinical safety documentation, ongoing support and keeping open communication. It's a continuous relationship throughout the system's lifecycle. When Trusts identify risks, we work together to address them through infrastructure and system design, training, process adaptations or other solutions.
6. Where does your role provide the most value during deployments?
Ultimately, it’s about making sure our deliverable documents are customer-centric and easy to navigate for Trust assurance processes, but we can only do that if we provide support and have continuous working relationships with our customers.
This is the first time Mindray has appointed a dedicated Clinical Safety Officer for DCB0129, but it’s important to recognise that we have excellent clinical application specialists supporting customers on the ground with device use, alongside the service and sales teams. Everyone in Mindray UK has a responsibility to report any risks whether they notice them themselves or are reported by a customer.
7. What are you most looking forward to achieving?
Establishing Mindray UK as a centre of clinical safety excellence! I want to achieve more than just regulatory compliance. I want to strengthen the confidence our customers and staff already have in our products. That will need strong partnerships across Mindray, especially with our R&D team. Ground-level feedback from customers is vital to inform future products so we have a strong clinical safety culture where patient safety is the top priority in every decision.
8. What principles guide your approach to clinical safety?
Patient safety above all else. From my NHS experience, some of the common risks we see include: not providing the necessary care, delayed care, or providing inappropriate care. Any of these can lead to significant patient harm. When clinical systems are implemented well, they make care more safe, efficient and sustainable.
