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Unique event aims to provide technology solutions for healthcare issues in Cornwall
For the first time in Cornwall, the NHS and other healthcare professionals are being brought together with pioneering health technology companies, to see how they can work together to benefit people across the region and beyond.
On
July 4th Cornwall
Council and Falmouth University will co-host Independence Day: Maximising
Technology in Health and Care, a health technology event at Falmouth University.
The health
tech industry is worth billions and the digital revolution, which has already
reshaped many other sectors, is transforming healthcare. Experts say that by
2020 the global value will be around £37bn, with the UK thought to be on course
to take around five percent.
NHS England
has already said that it is looking to save billions from the health budget by
embracing technology. Kathy Byrne, Chief Executive of NHS hospital Royal
Cornwall Hospital Trust says, “Within such a large organisation as the NHS,
we’re always amazed at the talent, innovative ideas and opportunities proposed
to us by some of the smaller players in the tech sector, but rarely have
the chance to meet so many health technology businesses in one place.
Maximising Technology in Health and Care on 4th July provides a
fantastic opportunity to meet the businesses and entrepreneurs and start those
conversations about their products and services that have so often led to
improving the healthcare system.”
This event is
set to provide a unique and rare opportunity for businesses and
entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services to the healthcare sector,
a system comprised of numerous organisations renowned for being notoriously
hard to penetrate, especially for SME’s.
The national
healthcare ecosystem is undergoing a dramatic, fundamental shift with rising
healthcare costs, increased demand on systems and growing, ageing populations
placing our health and social care systems under unprecedented pressure. With
its unique sense of entrepreneurship, community and sense of place, Cornwall is
responding to this global challenge in a radical way – utilising and
capitalising on emerging technologies and maximising the region’s opportunities
through research and innovation.
Head of
Inward Investment at Invest in Cornwall, Cornwall Council’s arm’s length
economic development company Cornwall Development Company, Nicola Lloyd says “We’re
not only focusing on local companies, but also international businesses that enable
Cornwall to thrive on inward investment and new ideas and innovation developed
around the world. In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in
international businesses relocating to the region and we’re delighted to see a
strong pipeline ahead. This not only reinforces the strength of the
opportunities and capabilities in Cornwall for foreign direct investment, but
these global companies also bring a foreign energy to the region generating
more jobs as a result.”
Cornwall
Council Chief Executive, Kate Kennally, says “We believe we have got a unique
opportunity in Cornwall to join up health and social care. Our geography, means
that we have got coterminous health and social care organisations which are
partnering with leading institutions such as Falmouth University to look at
ways in which we can deliver integrated healthcare in rural, digitally enabled
communities to improve outcomes and give people more choice and control. We
have got a range of businesses interested in partnering with us, so I am
delighted that we are hosting with Falmouth university a health technology
event in Cornwall. We hope to promote the organic growth of partnerships
between health technology businesses from across the world and representatives
from the NHS, local government and health and care organisations - ensuring the
right people are in the right place at the same time."
Two key examples
of such partnerships are EPIC and Smartline. Both of which have recently
secured funding within the region. The EPIC (E-health Productivity and
Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly) project is designed to improve
the use of technology in both health and social care with the hope of improving
the health and wellbeing of people in Cornwall and improve the Cornish economy
in this sector. Smartline: Smart wellbeing inspired by the community, is a research
and innovation project aimed at supporting the development of the eHealth and
eWellbeing market in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Smartline will help Cornish SMEs develop innovative
products, processes and services by increasing understanding of how technology
can be used to improve people’s health and wellbeing.
Dr Tim
Taylor, Senior Lecturer in the University of Exeter Medical School and Smartline
Principal Investigator says “Our objective is connecting communities to help
individuals take back control of their health and wellbeing. Cornwall has been
the perfect starting point for this project as the infrastructure, talent,
necessary resources and general sense of community already exists, helping to
ensure that we are in the best place possible to organically grow the
development of the eHealth and eWellbeing market in the region by linking
innovation to cutting edge research and working closely with Cornish SMEs' to
support research and development in this field.”
Professor Ray
Jones, Plymouth University says “The University of Plymouth will organise 10
locality groups around Cornwall and identify problems in health and social care
that have possible technology solutions. In turn, EPIC will develop their ideas
and help them apply for funding set aside to support individual projects. Creative
England will play a crucial role in helping technology businesses diversify
into the health and care sector. Cornwall is the ideal location for EPIC due to
the amount of entrepreneurial companies looking to partner with organisations
within the region, enabling them to export to the rest of the UK or
internationally. Already proving successful, we’re delighted this event has
been organised to fully explore the opportunities and partnerships available.”
In addition
to representatives from these two projects, the event will feature key note
speakers, market places to explore the most innovative health technology
businesses and above all provide a networking opportunity for all relevant
parties to discover more about the newest opportunities within the health technology
sector.
For further
details and to understand more information about the event or the healthtech
sector in Cornwall, please contact:
Ailsa Renton:Ailsa.Renton@Edelman.com 020 3047 2114