Clinical Community Spotlight – David Newton

About David

David Newton’s career path has been far from typical. Before moving into nursing, he worked in banking and finance and later in alcohol counselling, before finding his true fit in healthcare.

After qualifying as a nurse, David gained experience in High Dependency and Intensive Care Units before moving into Cardiothoracic care. He created an E-grade development programme to support nursing career progression and later led a service development team that introduced a rapid extubation pathway for cardiac surgery patients.

This innovation reduced waiting times and allowed up to ten patients a week to bypass the traditional ITU stay – transforming the standard care pathway and improving patient experience.

When life circumstances required a new balance, David transitioned into a Clinical Procurement Nurse Specialist role, becoming one of the first in the country. Over time, he helped build the Clinical Procurement Specialist Network and served as its national chairperson.

In further roles, David shaped the clinical input that now underpins the NHS Supply Chain model, helping establish early precursors to systems such as the Clinical Evaluation Team and Clinical and Product Assurance function.

He then moved into commercial clinical leadership, setting up clinical teams to support NHS care in areas including continence, urology, lung cancer, and respiratory screening.

In May 2024, David joined NHS Supply Chain as Clinical Lead for the Inventory Management Systems (IMS) programme within the In-Hospital Services function. His work focuses on engaging clinical teams, mapping processes in areas adopting IMS, and evidencing improvements in patient experience, risk reduction, and time savings for clinical staff – supporting safer, more efficient care delivery.

Driving Digital Transformation in Hospitals

As Clinical Lead for the Inventory Management Systems (IMS) programme, David plays a key role in helping NHS hospitals adopt digital solutions that improve patient safety and operational efficiency.

What makes this work unique is the level of clinical engagement. David and the deployment team spend significant time in the clinical areas of NHS trusts – working alongside theatre teams, radiology labs, and cardiac labs where patient care is delivered. This hands-on approach ensures that IMS and Point of Care barcode scanning solutions are designed and implemented in a way that truly supports frontline workflows.

The IMS programme focuses on:

• Engaging clinical teams to embed digital systems into everyday practice.
• Mapping clinical processes in early-adopter areas such as Orthopaedics, Interventional Cardiology, and Interventional Radiology to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Evidencing impact by capturing data on patient experience, risk reduction, and time savings for clinical staff – demonstrating measurable benefits for both patients and clinicians.

By working side-by-side with clinical teams, David helps hospitals scale IMS beyond initial implementation, creating sustainable models that enhance safety, efficiency, and patient outcomes.

How This Supports the Clinical and Quality of Care Strategy

David’s work on Inventory Management Systems with Point of Care scanning directly supports NHS Supply Chain’s Clinical and Quality of Care Strategy. By embedding digital solutions into frontline workflows, he helps:

• Promote Quality of Care through improved patient safety, accurate product availability, and better data usage.
• Strengthen Partnerships by working side-by-side with clinicians in operating theatres, interventional radiology, and interventional cardiology – ensuring solutions meet real-world needs.
• Support Population Health Management by reducing variation, improving efficiency, and enabling data-driven decisions that enhance patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities.

Life Outside Work

Family and friends are at the heart of David’s life outside work. He enjoys spending time with his dogs, being outdoors, and being with Celia, his long-suffering partner.

David is an active ally within NHS Supply Chain’s PRiDA network, supporting LGBTQ+ colleagues and promoting diversity and inclusion across the organisation and in the wider society – he’d like nothing better than for the proliferation of England flags across his neighbourhood to become rainbow flags of inclusion, in broad daylight, rather than covertly during the dark.

When it comes to hobbies, David loves cooking dishes from all around the world and exploring new flavours. Music is another passion, and he’s been a loyal supporter of Liverpool FC for over 55 years – a commitment that has brought plenty of highs and lows over the decades.

Working side-by-side with clinical teams in partner trusts is what makes this role so rewarding. It’s about building partnerships that ensure digital solutions truly work for frontline staff and patients. Our pilot programme proved the value of Inventory Management Systems and Point of Care scanning, and now, with funding secured for the next five years, we’ll be working with all trusts throughout England to embed these technologies and deliver measurable improvements in safety, efficiency, and patient experience.

David Newton, Clinical Lead, NHS Supply Chain

See our Useful Links section for more information on IMS and Clinical Team.