SW AHSN supporting University of Plymouth to bring digital healthcare to ageing South West population

The South West Academic Health Science Network (SW AHSN) is supporting the University of Plymouth to launch a new technology network that will bring digital healthcare to an ageing population. 
The South West Interdisciplinary Technology Consortium for Health and care (SWITCH), led by the University’s Centre for Health Technology, will enable greater digital connection and collaboration across the South West – a region housing five out of the 10 UK areas with the highest proportion of over 65s*.
Building on the University’s digital health and technology research, innovation and implementation work, the SWITCH ecosytem will be an interdisciplinary cross-sector consortium, including NHS partners, industry partners, health and social care organisations and patient groups. Working from the bottom up, patients, carers and health and social care professionals from Somerset to Cornwall will be able to use SWITCH to digitally communicate the problems they face, while local businesses, researchers and funders look to develop and build potential solutions.
The launch comes amid the success of the University’s EPIC and IHA projects, which take a similar form and are currently running in Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly and Devon respectively. The projects, funded by the European Regional Development Fund, have already seen initiatives such as Amazon Echo Spots being utilised in Cornish care homes, allowing them to impact on the people who need it most.
As well as ageing, EPIC, IHA and SWITCH are open to any area of health or social care that wants to bring forward a current issue for which technology might provide a solution.
SWITCH will be part of the European Connected Health Alliance (ECH Alliance), and linked to the wider Digital Health Ecosystem Network across the globe, with groups sharing internationally-recognised technologies and data standards.
Among the speakers at the SWITCH launch event will be Ben Showers, Head of Digital Transformation at NHSX, a new organisation for digital, data and technology; Andrew Bannister from Microsoft UK, talking about ecosystem infrastructure support; and Professor Andrew Morris, Director of Health Data Research UK.
Dr Arunangsu Chatterjee, Associate Professor of Digital Health and Education and Professor Ray Jones at the University of Plymouth, explained how they hoped the initiative would be self-sustaining and improve the quality of life of people in the South West.
“The University of Plymouth is at the forefront of digital innovation in healthcare,” Dr Chatterjee said. “And we want to ensure that everyone in the South West has the best possible access to the technology, or means of creating new innovations. Through SWITCH we intend to consolidate our regional offer through a single front door for industry, researchers and investors looking for partners, infrastructure and expertise.
“We are proud to be involving University researchers from science, arts and healthcare in SWITCH, but we want it to be self-sustaining and act as a go-to innovation enabler for service users, funders and the local businesses who can help.”
Professor Jones added: “The South West, which is one of the remotest parts of Britain, contains five out of the 10 UK areas with the highest proportion of over 65s.
“With an ageing population, our region is well placed to lead in the creation of projects that might help ease pressures on services. And if SWITCH continues as we hope, it could be an exemplar of digital healthcare internationally.”
Amanda Stratford, CEO of Healthwatch Cornwall said: “Digital technology forms part of everyday life now, for people of all ages. I am delighted to be speaking at the launch of this new initiative because involving the end user is so important.
“Innovation is truly valuable when it addresses people’s needs and you only know what those are by asking people and listening to their answers. Recently we asked people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly what they would prioritise locally in the NHS Long Term Plan and it was clear that there is a real desire to see technology used more across health and social care.”
* ONS data also shows that:

• There are six areas of the UK where over a third of the population is over 65 – and four of these areas are in the South West
• East Devon has one of the UK’s highest populations of over 85s.
• In West Somerset, the population of over 65s will have risen to 42% by 2036.
• Residents in remote areas such as the Lizard peninsula face a 30-mile journey (1-hour drive) to their nearest hospital and, with the closure of community hospitals across the South West, the NHS is under increasing pressure.

* Research Fortnight Research Power League Table 2014.