NewsTeam
Welcome to Hayley Grafton
We’re excited to welcome Hayley Grafton to the SmartCo Future Health team, joining us as our CNIO Advisor.
We had the chance to sit down with Hayley to hear about her career journey, her new position and her initial thoughts on SmartCo Future Health. Keep reading to learn more about her story and the expertise she brings to the team.
Hi Hayley. What’s your new role, and what will you be working on?
I’ve joined as a Clinical Advisor, supporting SmartCo Future Health to ensure a strong, authentic clinical voice is embedded across everything we do.
I’ll be coordinating clinical input into projects, helping clients navigate digital change and innovation with real-world NHS insight. Alongside that, I’ll be driving the growth of SmartCo Future Health’s clinical presence and developing new opportunities to bring even more value to our clients – from coaching and mentoring to educational support and strategic advice.
Tell us a bit about your career background
I’ve been a registered nurse for over 20 years, specialising in intensive care, practice education, and more recently, digital health. I’m a self-proclaimed Nerdy Nurse – always drawn to tech and gadgets, which probably explains my early love for critical care and my natural move into digital leadership.
A real career highlight was serving as an Editor for the Royal Marsden Manual for Clinical Nursing Procedures, affectionately known as the bible when I was a Nursing Student.
I’ve led and supported a wide range of digital transformation programmes, from quality improvement and telecoms upgrades to multiple full-scale EPR implementations. I hold a master’s in digital health leadership through the NHS Leadership Academy and was honoured to be invited to advise on the NHS 10-Year Plan, helping shape the national strategy for supporting people through the shift from analogue to digital. I’m also the Chair of the Digital Health Networks CNIO Advisory Panel.
Bringing together my passions for healthcare and technology has genuinely landed me in my dream career.
What aspect of your new role are you most looking forward to?
I’m most excited about sharing my knowledge, skills and experience beyond the walls of a single organisation, and supporting others to shape and deliver meaningful digital transformation. I’m especially passionate about helping teams turn big ambitions into practical, real-world change that benefits both patients and clinicians.
What attracted you to join SmartCo Future Health?
I’ve worked alongside SmartCo colleagues and associates on a range of projects and forums over the years, and I’ve always been impressed by the depth of their expertise and the quality of their work. What really drew me in, though, was their clear commitment to supporting healthcare, particularly the NHS, in a meaningful, future-focused way. It felt like the right team, with the right values, heading in the right direction.
What’s your go to way to unwind after a long day?
It depends on the day! Sometimes it’s a game of netball with the team I’ve played with for the past six years, other times it’s a long bath or a walk to the park with my three kids – though with three of them, those quiet moments to unwind are definitely in short supply!
If you could instantly master any skill, what would it be?
Definitely a new language! I love to travel but I’m hopeless with languages and always feel a bit rude not being able to speak the local lingo. Thankfully, tech comes to the rescue… but being fluent would be so much more efficient (and polite)!
What’s your personal motto or favourite quote?
“A tidy house is the sign of a wasted life.”
It might sound like an excuse for a slightly chaotic (but clean!) home, but for me it reflects something deeper – life is so short, and when it comes to choosing between tidying up or grabbing an experience, a work opportunity, or moment with people I care about… I know which one I’m picking.
