Member Article

Digital innovation sets out road map for future of health care

Clinicians, healthcare commissioners and digital experts from across the North West of England have gathered to share ideas at a forum to create a ‘roadmap’ for using digital technology to assist the NHS in the region.

Hosted by the North West Coast Academic Health Science Network (NWC AHSN) in Liverpool, it brought together industry leaders, clinicians, healthcare professionals, technology experts, Local Enterprise Partnerships and SMEs.

They debated current and future challenges in the health system, to identify where digital technologies could be used to help the NHS workforce and the patients it serves.

Speakers included Dr Liz Mear CEO of the NWC AHSN, Martin Ellis, Head of Connected Care at BT, and Iain Hennessey, Paediatric Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Innovation at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Other experts included Richard Phillips, Head of Agile Working at BT Global Health, Dr Chris Mimnagh GP and Co-Director Clinical Strategy at Aintree University Hospital Foundation Trust, and Max Zadow Founder of Digital Creativity in Disability.

Dr Liz Mear, CEO of NWC AHSN and former Chief Executive of the Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Advances in digital are already significantly enhancing the operations of the health sector in the UK.

“This is an area of huge potential, with real implications for how we approach the future of healthcare, so it’s great to have the opportunity to provide this platform where experts from the world of digital and health can connect, share ideas and analyse areas where digital innovation could have real impact.

“This roadmap will help to provide a framework to ensure that NHS commissioners, trusts, GPs and hospitals in the region are able to tap into advances in digital technology and are equipped for the healthcare challenges which lie ahead.

“We want to ensure that patients and the workforce are able to reap the benefits made possible through digital innovation and we look forward to continuing to explore supporting our local businesses and health care staff to realise the clinical potential of mobile and other digital technologies.”

Developing and disseminating digital health solutions is a key focus for the NWC AHSN and its next step will be to organise a hackathon (also known as a hack day, hackfest or codefest) – bringing clinicians and digital experts back together for a full day event to develop new solutions for the health system.

The NWC AHSN is based at Sci-Tech Daresbury and provides strategic advice to businesses with products which would work in the NHS on how to access the market.

It works with all parts of the NHS and its healthcare delivery partners and with the academic sector, to accelerate the adoption and spread of innovation and ensure the most advanced treatments, technologies and medicines are available to health care service users.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .