After having a baby daughter, Health Economics Unit Lead Health Economist Lisa Cummins took a year of maternity leave. A year after her return to work, Lisa reflects on the outstanding projects she has been involved with, and how becoming a parent has taught her valuable lessons in her approach to work.

Last March, I returned from maternity leave, just in time for the beginning of the new financial year. I have to admit that stepping back into work life was more challenging than the first year of parenthood! Before having a family, I poured so much  energy into work (maybe even too much at times); now, I’ve had to learn how to split my focus, protect my time, and still deliver work I’m proud of.

Re-adjusting to the rhythm of work, rebuilding confidence, re-establishing routines, and finding new ways to balance was a new kind of challenge – one I couldn’t fully prepare for until I was in it. But despite all of that (and the many, many sleepless nights), it’s been a pretty rewarding year, career-wise.

I’ve had the opportunity to lead varied and impactful projects, from prevention to national strategic programmes, while also taking on hands-on modelling projects. Most important of all, I’ve had the chance to work on projects that matter, with partners who value collaboration and impact.

Here’s a look back some of my work, and the learning, that shaped my year.

End of life care

End-of-life care touches every family, yet we still lack a complete picture of its cost of care. Working with Marie Curie and the Nuffield Trust, I estimated the UK-wide cost of end-of-life care. The project had a strict deadline as findings were needed by early February to support Marie Curie’s submission to the Comprehensive Spending Review.

It made for a challenging few weeks, juggling delivery alongside other work priorities, all while preparing to travel home to Ireland for Christmas (with a toddler in tow). It was a reminder that meaningful work often happens under imperfect conditions and that good collaboration and a bit of stamina go a long way.

Prevention and early diagnosis

We know that prevention is one of the most powerful levers we have for improving long-term health outcomes and reducing costs.

This year, I had the opportunity to work with passionate public health colleagues at NHS London to model the costs and benefits of expanding cervical screening and HPV vaccination. By quantifying cost reductions and health gains, my work informed regional decisions aimed at maximising impact and improving value for money.

This project in particular reminded me that my role isn’t about delivering perfection, it’s about delivering what’s possible within the time and resources available, to help inform decisions that need to be made today. In many ways, that mindset mirrors parenting: we’re not always perfect, but we do what we can, with what we have, when it matters most. And often, that’s exactly what’s needed.

I’m presently working on a prevention and early diagnosis project, collaborating with Leukaemia UK and colleagues in ML BI team, to examine the impact of earlier diagnosis of leukaemia using real-world data. In this project, I am using my data engineering, data analysis and economic modelling skills to examine the health and economic outcomes.

New Hospital Programme

This year, the HEU worked with the New Hospital Programme to undertake research to inform evidence-based decision-making.

As part of this work, I developed the economic case for a comprehensive business case aligned with HM Treasury Green Book guidance to inform strategic investment decisions relating to procurement. And I also delivered a series of interactive workshops with stakeholders, helping to articulate the value of evidence-informed approaches in hospital design and service planning.

Knowledge sharing

I delivered training sessions to digital health innovators as part of Barts Life Sciences’ HealthTech programme, sharing my knowledge on health economics and why economic evaluation is so important when it comes to assessing and demonstrating the impact of digital health intervention, throughout the entire product lifecycle.

Delivering this training was a valuable opportunity for me to refresh my knowledge of the latest research and guidance. Evaluating digital health technologies is an evolving field and adaptable and comprehensive evaluation methodologies are required to ensure that digital health interventions are both effective and safe for patient use.

I’m proud of what I’ve delivered, not in spite of the challenges, but alongside them. And Thanks to those I worked with that made this return to work manageable, at times offering flexibility, trust, and support that I’ll always be grateful for.

As I look ahead, I’m excited to keep building on this work, to keep learning, and to keep showing that it’s possible to do meaningful, impactful work, even on very little sleep.

If you’re interested in connecting, collaborating, or just talking health economics, then contact me and we can have a chat.