Patients’ needs are at the forefront of an initiative being undertaken by DigitalHealth.London. In a collaborative effort between a network of healthcare providers, clinicians, entrepreneurs and research bodies, there is a drive to create innovative technologies in healthcare that are easy to access for all users from patients to providers.
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, openly stated that this initiative will put London at the forefront of cutting edge digital healthcare technology and promote the City to a place of global prominence in digital technology and life sciences. What prompted this initiative was a recommendation for the creation of a hub in digital healthcare in the nation’s capital that focuses on having the ability to better achieve goals, one of which is becoming the healthiest major metropolitan area anywhere around the globe.
Imperial College Health Partners, Health Innovation Network and UCLPartners are being joined by Mayor Johnson’s promotional agency for life sciences, MedCity, that covers the region of the greater South East region. In a combined effort they are working to improve processes laid out by the NHS for procurement and marketing as well as in the promotion of research. A further ambition of the combined effort will be to enable streamlined communications between patients, clinicians and tech developers.
UCLPartners’ director of commercial development, Professor Joanne Hackett, states that the focus of the initiative will work towards bringing industry and healthcare services together in the same arena in a way that will enable them to better understand each other. A further goal is the creation of an environment in which SMEs can grow in order to both grow the economy and overall enrich patients’ well-being.
Additionally, it is hoped that at least 50,000 new jobs can be created within the digital health sector, an objective shared by DigitalHealth.London as they launched their pilot project on 10 February. The programme, titled Digital Accelerator, is focused on supporting the nation’s SMEs in developing technology and products in the healthcare arena. This is to be achieved through consulting with healthcare experts and clinicians and will also create opportunities within the hospital system to utilize these new technologies and products.
The timeframe in which this initiative is to take place covers a three year span in which digital health companies, 90 of them, will be selected to participate in the programme being sponsored by:
- The NHS Foundation Trust of Guy & St Thomas
- The European Regional Development Fund
- Imperial College Healthcare Partners
- UCLPartners
- MedCity
- Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity
- Digital Catapult
7 March is set as the date to get information needed for applying to the Digital Accelerator programme, so mark your calendars now. This is a date you won’t want to miss!
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