Dr Suzanne Ford-Dunn, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Suzanne Ford-Dunn is a senior clinician and Trust Lead for End-of-Life Care at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, collaborating across acute and community partners.

She leads a specialist palliative care service supporting patients in the last year of life, alongside developing and scaling innovative digital solutions such as the Comfort Tracker app, to enhance care coordination, patient comfort, and family support for people at home.

“For me, the NHS is about being there for patients and families when they need us most. Through digital tools like the Comfort Tracker, we can stay connected to people in their own homes, anticipate their needs, and ensure they feel supported—not abandoned—during the most important moments of their lives.”

The Comfort Tracker App is showing how technology can transform support and shift care from hospital setting into the community. It allows clinicians to identify deterioration earlier, intervene proactively, and reduce crisis escalation – supporting more care to be delivered safely in the community and avoiding hospital admissions where possible. The results have been incredibly encouraging, demonstrating how integrating the app into patients’ care is helping to enhance comfort, reduce hospital admissions, and give people the support they need to stay at home.