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How Investing In Tech Could Ease The Current NHS Crisis
The recent news that the NHS’s so-called winter crisis is set to last until August will have been a major cause for concern to any of us who care about the nation’s under-strain health service. The British Medical Association made the stark warning on 2 April, after data showed that patient waiting times, bed shortages and ambulance queues hit record levels over the winter - and that hospitals are going to be faced with the same problems for the rest of this year, without the traditional easing of pressure in the summer, whilst budgets remain stretched to breaking point. There are calls from all corners for more money, more social care, reform, rethinking and more when it comes to the NHS. But what hasn’t really been talked about until now is how tech could, in some cases, help ease the situation. The House of Lords have finally acknowledged this, with a new report released on Monday titled ‘AI in the UK: Ready willing and able’ urging the NHS to tap into data-driven technology and saying AI could have significant benefits for patient care, diagnostics, research and personalised medicine. I wish there’d been tech like that around when I was young. When I was 13, I contracted viral encephalitis while on holiday with my family. The last thing I remember is a headache and putting my hand to my head. What happened next was pretty terrifying. I woke in intensive care temporarily unable to move my left side and unable to speak. I couldn’t ask my mum what was going on. I was confused by the alien environment and distressed by my parents’ anxiety. Luckily, after a few weeks of extraordinary care I made a good recovery. Hospital can be a scary place for anyone. But it’s all the scarier for a sick child unfamiliar with the people who work in it, what’s happening to them, and why. In my case, MRIs and angiograms were some of the most anxiety-inducing and confusing experiences – experiences that I would have loved a distraction from. Doctors and nurses understand the power of distraction and, just as importantly, the risk that by not tackling young patients’ anxiety and stress the effectiveness of treatments and the chances of a quick recovery can be undermined. Now, there’s an app to help with that, that answer all the child’s questions, eases their fears and distracts them with a series of games. At the moment, Alder Play is only available at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, but it’s hoped it can be rolled out to other children’s hospitals. And digital tools including voice-activated tech could also help improve patient outcomes generally and reduce wasted NHS drug expenditure, according to new YouGov research. Failure to take medicines as prescribed impacts negatively on patient’s health and can even cost lives. It also puts pressure on NHS budgets, with an estimated £300m lost due to medicine wastage, at least half of which is avoidable, along with the £500m cost to the NHS caused by non-adherence. Some 50% of British adults who used prescription or non-prescription medication over the last year said they would find a voice-activated reminder from the likes of Alexa to take their medication on time ‘useful’. And more than a quarter (26%) of surveyed had actively used digital technology like health tracking apps to improve their health and fitness, showing British adults are already open to new technology. More and more new tech is being developed which will be able to check and even control our health. Just last month, an app developed by the University of Manchester to help patients in the early stages of psychosis was shown to improve its users’ mental health and secured £1.6m in funding to be tested by the Medical Research Council. Tech can potentially help hasten good outcomes in all areas of healthcare which benefits all elements of the community and ultimately saves time and money, as long as developers recognise existing health inequalities. We need to acknowledge that creating digital solutions for those who are hard to reach won’t address the existing inequalities we already have. For example, some 10% of UK households have no access to the internet, and 30% of OAPs have never been online. According to figures from the Department of Health, the gap in life expectancy between those in in the highest and lowest socio-economic bands is increasing. Technology can help address this problem if we ensure everyone can realise their digital potential. Yes, the NHS launched a launched a library of apps last year to help patients control some conditions such as COPD or get active with Couch to 5k. Prevention is better than cure after all. And Jeremy Hunt pledging that all NHS buildings will have free wi fi by the end of 2019 is to be welcomed too – being able to stay in contact with family and friends at all times is only going to improve patient wellbeing and expedite their recovery. But most of the real digital health innovations are not coming from the NHS itself – they’re coming from external agents and tech companies. With an ageing population, chronic conditions like diabetes becoming more prevalent and increased funding not forthcoming, there has to be another way. I truly believe that rather than simply throwing money at the problem, embracing partnerships across institutions, public health bodies, tech companies and design studios can result in innovative solutions across healthcare. This will ultimately help alleviate the strain on the NHS.
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4th GIANT Thinking #podcast episode is LIVE!
In this episode GIANT Health CEO Barry Shrier welcomes Sameer Kothari; Chief Executive of Zilico which is a UK based company which specialises in the design and manufacture of real-time medical diagnostics to address specific clinical needs. Subjects covered in…
Read moreThe UK looks to healthtech startups during the pandemic
The UK’s healthtech sector has rallied its world-class talent and skills to help in the fight against coronavirus, as startups work side by side with big tech companies to provide new services and technology. From tracking cases to supporting front-line staff; loaning vital equipment and resources; providing online patient care; and gathering and analysing data; tech companies large and small across the country are rising to the challenge to help the government and the NHS. Healthtech is now the second biggest sub-set of the UK tech sector after fintech and there are more than 100 healthtech companies that are on track to become $1bn businesses. The rapid switch to digital communication and tools across the sector, in the face of the crisis, is likely to have a profound impact on how quickly digital healthcare becomes part of the healthcare system in the next few years. During 2019 the sector received $2.3bn in venture capital backing, almost double that of France, the next highest recipient. The companies in the sector have a combined turnover of £24 billion and employ more than 127,400 people across 3,860 businesses. This comes as the Chancellor announced UK businesses driving innovation and development hit by coronavirus will be helped with a £1.25 billion government support package.
Read moreHave you seen our weekly newsletter with latest #HealthTech news?
This week we have a brilliant and personal interview with a Biotech VC investor. In addition, we highlight the results of our VR twitter poll and opportunities to tackle inequalities in healthcare. Sign up here and find out more!
Read moreAnnouncing new speaker | GIANT’s Inbound Trade Mission
Hello Health Tech Community! We honored to announce GIANT's valuable speaker Hassan Chaudhury, who is a Digital Health Specialist at Department for International Trade. Hassan has kindly agreed to give a presentation and contribute his knowledge and expertise at the conference on " How to sell into the UK market". Join us on 1-2 December. Secure your ticket: https://www.giant.health/tickets Get involved in the Inbound trade Mission programme: https://www.giant.health/inbound-trade-mission
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GIANT Health is a proud supporter of NHS Charities Together
Did you know that £95 could fund a counselling session for NHS staff? GIANT Health is a proud supporter of NHSCharities Together, for everybody who buys a ticket to attend GIANT Health, we make a donation to NHS Charities Together. Buy…
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Are you ready for a new GIANT Thinking podcast episode?
We are super excited and we can't wait to listen to MedicalChain CEO Dr Abdullah Albeyatti - "The Healthcare System is Fragmented". Today, 10:00 am. Click here to download and listen.
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Longevity Series webinars by R42 Institute
Starting from 30th September until 16th December. We can share a 20% discount code on a limited number of tickets. Find out more here or contact Anastasiya.
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Brills Partnership with GIANT 2020 to enable and encourage your network to take part in our two-day health-tech event for enthusiasts, innovators, leaders, helpers, drivers, and enablers.
What we are offering One complimentary ticket to the partner's organization (worth up to £495) A discount code to offer your network 25% off tickets Promote partner's organization both online (event website, a newsletter with 177k subscribers, social media promotion) and offline (event brochure, banners) using your logo and short intro What we would ask in return Promote GIANT Health event and other GIANT's initiatives online / offline on your events page, website, newsletter, social media, Slack or whatever medium works best for you Tweet at least 12 mentions before the event at your cadence, that will always include tracked link, the #GIANTHealth2020 hashtag and @gianthealthevnt tag Where possible, reposts from GIANT Health social media accounts
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Doctorpreneurs is a non-profit organisation and global community for doctors
Doctorpreneurs is a non-profit organisation and global community for doctors, medical students and individuals passionate about healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship. They interview established healthcare innovators and entrepreneurs, organise and promote healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship themed events, and provide career…
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GIANT Thinking podcast is LIVE NOW!
Please can you support us and download the first episode at the same time to try and get iTunes to take notice. Download here
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What is Hospify?
Ill-served by inefficient, out-dated communication, over 600,000 NHS professionals are currently using consumer messaging services like WhatsApp to supplement communication. But the arrival of GDPR regulations in May 2018 rendered healthcare institutions whose employees use these consumer tools to handle…
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