In our latest #OurEntrepreneurs profile we meet cohort 7 Clinical Entrepreneur Suzanne Vernazza, Pelvic Health Physiotherapist.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I am passionate about pelvic health and improving access to education about pelvic floors and related topics. I work clinically in the NHS as a pelvic health physiotherapist, and I am the Founding Director of Know Your Floors CIC and creator of #squeezealong.
Name: Suzanne Vernazza, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Cohort 7
Occupation: Pelvic Health Physiotherapist
Why did you apply to the programme and what are you looking forward to?
I had approached my local AHSN and NHS Trust for funding opportunities. The contact in the Trust sent me the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme information and it was clear I needed to apply as it would help me to bring my ideas to life.
I hope the programme can help me raise the profile of pelvic health and provide me with practical support to get an app up and running.
Tell us about your innovation
I have been doing the #squeezealong on social media since June 2022. As a result, I have amassed over 500K followers. The response and comments from my community made me realise a squeezealong app would be helpful for many people and I have also used the squeezealong with my patients and can see how it would be useful for other clinicians to refer to.
My innovation improves awareness and adherence to pelvic floor exercises, and I hope that we may be able to link education and public health messages so that people are able to self-treat or access care at a more timely point in their journey.
What motivates you?
The chance to make a difference to so many people motivates me.
Pelvic health issues are embarrassing, and I have seen first-hand how they can impact people’s lives and how empowering having access to the right information can be.
What are your ambitions for the next year?
In the next year I hope to create a squeezealong app and to be running campaigns to get more people involved- #getpelvicfloorfit. I hope that we will be seeing all genders and ages starting to talk about pelvic floor exercises.
Why do you think innovation is important in healthcare?
Innovation is important as it allows change and progression within the NHS. Overall, innovation is key to everything we do.
How can we find out more?
For more information please visit: www.knowyourfloors.app or follow me on social media.
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TRANSFORMING HEALTHCARE THROUGH INNOVATION
