Thames Valley Health Innovation and Education Cluster
The Thames Valley Health Innovation and Education Cluster (TVHIEC) is a publicly funded partnership authorised by the Department of Health to improve innovation and education within the NHS across the Thames Valley. It was established on 1 April 2010 and is based in Oxford. The Thames Valley Health Innovation and Education Cluster is one of seventeen HIECs established by the Department of Health in January 2010 to improve the quality of healthcare through increased innovation within health/social care and applied healthcare education across England. The themes of Thames Valley HIEC are: Care  Closer to Home Patient Safety Integrated Services Capacity and Capability Development in Practice Thames Valley HIEC is the mechanism by which ideas that promote the welfare of the patient make their way into working practice as soon as possible. Thames valley is 15.1% short of cancer chemotherapy nurses and is 7% short of specialist cancer nurses. Structure. The TVHIEC's governing body is the Board made up of representatives or partner organisations from NHS, Higher Education, Local Authorities, 3rd Sector and commercial organisations. The Chair leads the Board which is responsible for: Directing the activities of the HIEC Ensuring that  the governance of the Thames Valley HIEC is developed and maintained Ensuring engagement of partners The Thames Valley HIEC Chief Executive, Dr. Catherine O'Sullivan, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the organisation. Partners. The following partners signed the original Memorandum of Understanding: