Claire Dellar

My job is to make sure that the services we create truly help people. I build the teams that can achieve that.

I joined NHS Digital (now NHS England) about 9 years ago as a benefits manager. I was already established in that community: I helped write the textbooks used for the international qualification. I wrote the benefits management training for the NHS and some for the Chartered Association for Project Management. I also helped write the newly published British Standard, which is going through the process of becoming an international standard.

I’m now a product manager, leading the vision and strategy for life-saving NHS technology products such as cancer screening management systems.

I’m also championing accessibility in my current field of Digital Primary Care and I’m a member of the NHS England Accessibility Working group. As a neurodiverse, disabled person this work is incredibly important to me.

We think I’m the first person in our organisation to have a personal assistant as one of my reasonable adjustments for my type of disability. She manages administrative tasks and briefs me on important actions, so I can dedicate my time and energy to work that makes the most of my expertise.

I have fibromyalgia, likely caused by Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This affects me in many ways, including chronic pain, fatigue, memory problems and brain fog. Energy management is balancing act, which is why I recently started using a wheelchair. This helps me save my energy for things that matter to me, rather than simply moving from A to B.

I also have dyslexia. That means I’m excellent at big-picture thinking but also means that things can get a bit chaotic in my brain and I have accessibility needs when it comes to physical spaces and technology.

I work with both the product and user-centred design professions, who have the most influence on accessibility for our public and system-facing services. I’m also working on influencing the accessibility of our internal communication and services as well.

One of my main messages when I talk to colleagues: If you make something accessible for people with an access need, you make it easier to use for everybody.