New vascular access specialist at Vygon urges Trusts to ‘lean into’ industry expertise to improve practice

Addressing critical training gaps and improving patient outcomes across the NHS is the ambition for a new vascular access specialist, who brings over two decades of frontline experience to his role with Vygon UK.

Ian Tydeman believes his vascular access specialism will help “join the dots” between Trusts and share best practice nationwide – offering the opportunity to deliver an even bigger impact on clinical practice than was possible within his 21-year NHS career.

With a background primarily in critical care and vascular access, including managing the Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy (OPAT) service at Royal Derby Hospital, Ian transitioned to industry initially with global healthcare leader Solventum (formerly 3M). Here, he gained international insight into vascular access and infection prevention practices, which he now brings to Vygon UK.

Ian believes engaging with product specialists and manufacturers to support training needs can strengthen UK standards – and expand on “pockets of excellence” within the system. “We’ve definitely got work to do, but the UK should be proud of what we’ve achieved in vascular access,” says Ian.

“The challenge is that knowledge sharing between Trusts is limited. In a strained healthcare service, teams don’t have time to step back and learn from each other. This role allows me to connect those dots and facilitate education that benefits patients.”

Working alongside colleagues in Vygon’s Clinical Nurse Education team, Ian will deliver technical training on PICCs and midlines through face-to-face sessions, online modules, and conferences.

He stresses that better education is crucial to improving patient outcomes: “To make a real difference, we need to enhance training for nursing staff at every level—from new starters to experienced clinicians.

“There’s so much development available for NHS staff from private companies like Vygon, but it’s hugely underutilised. And I understand the potential reticence. Much of my career was in intensive care and high dependency units and I would avoid what I perceived as the ‘sales rep’ because I felt I didn’t have time. Many clinicians do the same today. But, if they leaned into industry expertise it could genuinely transform practice.”

With NHS Trusts under pressure and education sometimes deprioritised, Ian believes his new role offers him a unique opportunity: “On a personal level, I believe I can make a more significant impact in vascular access now than I could from within the NHS.”

Francesca Briers, National Sales Manager at Vygon UK, adds: “Ian’s experience, talent and ambition make him a fantastic addition to our team. His expertise in vascular access practice and understanding of clinician’s challenges will ensure we continue to deliver outstanding support to our customers.”

Ian’s appointment also reflects his long-standing connection to the medical device manufacturer: “I’ve always used Vygon products throughout my career - from intensive care to vascular access teams, so this position is a natural professional progression.”