New initiative will see researchers work with digital technology leaders to meaningfully impact health care services and improve patient outcomes in the region.
From the left: Joanne Roney, Managing Director, Birmingham City Council; Professor Neil Hanley, Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham; Professor Simon Ball, Senior Responsible Officer for the West Midlands Secure Data Environment; Dame Julie Moore, Chair of Health Data Research UK; Professor Dipak Kotecha, Director of DaRe2THINK & Cities@Heart at the University of Birmingham
The recently launched West Midlands Living Lab, is an initiative to explore using digital technology to improve patient communication, enable community care, avoid hospital admissions, and support a more prevention-based health service. An inaugural workshop, last month, brought together stakeholders from primary and secondary care NHS services, health technology companies, researchers, patient and public representatives, health policy experts and community organisations.
Working with worldwide technology giant Cisco, the University of Birmingham will lead the latest of the Lister Alliance Living Labs in the country’s richly diverse second city. With approximately 6.2 million people, and more than 100 languages spoken, the diverse West Midlands population truly reflects the global community. Research conducted in the region will be widely applicable, so it provides the ideal test bed.
“The West Midlands is the perfect place to do this innovative work, with our leading researchers bringing together key stakeholders to connect state-of-the-art NHS facilities and uniquely diverse local communities. Working with an industry partner with the capability and reach of Cisco working alongside us is a testament to the scale of our ambition and drive to improve health outcomes using innovative technology and analytics,” comments Professor Simon Ball, Senior Responsible Officer for the West Midlands Secure Data Environment and co-lead for the living lab.
“We’re delighted that the University of Birmingham, led by Professor Kotecha, is at the forefront of this collaboration. It was great to attend the recent launch event and inspiring to feel the cross-sector work—the genuine triple helix of universities, public sector and industry—all focussed on stopping readmission to hospital and, in particular, addressing the health inequalities associated with this. Aligning all this with skills, innovation, entrepreneurship and commercialisation really excites me. And of course, with the make-up of Birmingham and the West Midlands being the demographic of the world, lessons learned and experiences gained will be rapidly translatable across the UK and internationally.” Professor Neil Hanley, Pro Vice Chancellor and Head of College of Medicine and Health.
The West Midlands Living Lab, funded by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration programme, sets out to improve communication between primary, secondary, and at-home care to prevent unnecessary admissions and readmissions, and address health inequalities through better preventative health measures. The programme will take advantage of considerable and unique health data resources, including the West Midlands Secure Data Environment which is connecting health systems across the region, and DaRe2THINK which provides a national digital clinical trial platform for NHS Primary Care.
Pilot studies are planned to run through community hubs, NHS Primary Care and hospital trusts, looking at how best to break down siloes between existing services and orchestrate better, connected health and social care. Partnerships with community organisations will help address the needs of diverse neighbourhoods and be a blueprint for global benefit.
Our new living lab focused on Health Technology will allow us to bring together health data and industry partners to innovate towards better healthcare for all. This includes exploring technologies for remote monitoring, developing AI tools for prediction, improving how people get discharged from hospital, and integrating health data to keep people informed and well in their own homes.
“For example, our previous research, now adopted into the NHS 10-year plan, has shown that wearable devices for health monitoring can provide information similar to that recorded at hospital visits. These early indications show promise for a less hospital-centric and more personalised approach to care, delivered in the community by using new HealthTech,” Professor Kotecha continues, co-lead for the living lab.
“We are looking forward to harnessing the creativity, experience and collective capabilities in the West Midlands to improve routine NHS care through technology but also need to be mindful that we don't exacerbate existing heath inequalities. Living labs are just as much about finding out what does work as what doesn't, and we plan to achieve this through co-production with local community leaders" Declan Hadley, Healthcare Lead, Cisco UKI.
Professor of Cardiology & Cardiac Imaging
Staff profile for Professor Dipak Kotecha, Professor of Cardiology, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health
Professor Neil Hanley is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Head of the College of Medicine and Health at the University of Birmingham.
