Event Timing: Wednesday 7th October 2026, 12.30 - 1.30PM TBC
Location: Online - Zoom
Speaker: Hamid Reza Zolfagharinia, MSc. Head of Innovation and Deputy R&I Director, Research & Innovation, Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Chair: Clare Liggins, SIG Co-convenor

We are very pleased to be joined by Hamid Reza Zolfagharinia from Birmingham Community Healthcare for our October CHA Special Interest Group discussion.

About the discussion
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC) introduced the ISLA Care platform in 2022 to capture and assess clinical images, initially supporting early identification and monitoring of pressure ulcers. Over time, its use expanded across services including podiatry, lymphoedema and dietetics. The Care Coordination Centre has recently adopted ISLA to improve triage of unplanned care referrals by enabling patients and carers to securely share images. This has enhanced clinical decision making, reduced unnecessary visits and improved patient safety. Early results show avoidance of 64 hospital admissions and 275 home visits, generating estimated annual NHS savings of £101k while improving care quality and accessibility.

This work won the Innovation and Technology Award at the CHA Innovation and Best Practice Awards 2025, recognising BCHC's Urgent Community Response team, Computer Aided Dispatch team and Innovation team. Judges praised how the tool empowers staff with practical digital solutions that improve care, streamline workflows and drive efficiency across services. Hamid presented on the project at the CHA National Conference 2026 and was celebrated alongside other IBPA winners at the networking dinner on 7th May.

About our speaker
Hamid is Head of Innovation and Deputy R&I Director in the Research & Innovation team at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (BCHC). He trained as a Clinical Scientist at Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust, specialising in electronic medical instrumentation, physiological measurements and medical equipment management, following an MSc in Biomedical Engineering. He previously chaired the Clinical Engineering Specialist Interest Group of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine (IPEM). Hamid has a particular interest in developing innovative healthcare solutions, both digital and non-digital, and will share BCHC's experience of implementing the ISLA Care platform to improve patient safety and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions.

About our SIG events
This free online event is open to anyone working in or interested in community hospitals and hubs. Join us for insight, discussion and the chance to network with others in the sector, with plenty of time for questions.

To take part, register your details below (you may need to click 'next' at the bottom of the page depending on your device). You'll receive the Zoom link once registered, along with a reminder closer to the date. Please check you have access to Zoom on your device, and note the meeting room opens 5 mins before the event starts.

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Please note that CHA Special Interest Group sessions are recorded, with recordings made available on the CHA website afterwards. CPD certificates are issued once you've completed a short event evaluation.

Join our SIG
Would you like to be part of our Special Interest Group: sharing good practice in Q? It's completely free to join and is a fantastic networking platform. Follow this link to register Community Hospitals SIG on Q

You can watch recordings of all the previous Q CHA SIG discussions here Special Interest Group on Community Hospitals - Q & CHA

Join the CHA, it's free!
The Community Hospitals Association is a growing membership organisation. We pride ourselves in championing the marvelous work carried out in community hospitals across the four nations. Individual membership is free and open to clinical and non-clinical staff, researchers, and anyone interested in community hospitals. Follow this link to join.

Contact us
Should you wish to get in touch about the event or require any support to register, please contact on eleanor@communityhospitals.net or 07876 408259.