What began as a vision to transform how patients are treated in South Yorkshire has grown into a thriving community who share a passion for transforming how healthcare is delivered across South Yorkshire and beyond.
Led by the University of Sheffield in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, the Ā£4 million Hub is working to improve peopleās health and quality of life by creating innovative digital health tools that fuse data from daily life activities with NHS data.
In its first year, the Hub has forged strong partnerships with regional hospitals, GPs, mental health services, businesses, the South Yorkshire Integrated Care System and patient and public groups to develop technologies to lead the way in the evolving digital health sector.
Tim Chico, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Sheffield and Director of the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, said: āThe first year of the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub has been a remarkable success. We've built a strong community of passionate individuals and groups who are committed to transforming healthcare and tackling health inequalities. By working together and breaking down barriers, we're paving the way for a healthier, more equitable future for our region.ā
After guiding its first cohort of groundbreaking projects through the Innovation Pipeline and awarding them Ā£500k in funding, the Hub reflects on a busy first year.
Tackling health inequality in South Yorkshire with wearable technology
Building a community of practice
Actively engaging and involving members of the public is a central part of the Hubās mission.
The Hub aims to foster collaboration and ensure digital tools benefit everyone, particularly marginalised groups. The Hubās first Citizensā Jury on Digital Health last winter gave a fascinating insight into how this inclusive ācommunity of practiceā ethos works in practice.
The jury, made up of members of the public who reside locally, gave up their Saturdays to spend the day discussing digital healthcare, its role in tackling inequalities and any concerns they may have. At the end of the session, the participants put forward a series of recommendations in areas from data privacy to the importance of complementing existing NHS services.
Maryam Khan, Hub Manager at South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, said: āWorking in an environment where the process is shaped by diverse views has felt truly refreshing to me.
āOur collaborative, multidisciplinary approach also serves to underscore how crucial these diverse perspectives are in our mission to improve regional health outcomes.ā
Investing in the region
February saw the announcement of investment by Google in health technology research and training to help tackle inequalities, upskill the region and drive economic growth. The announcement included scholarships, apprenticeships and free digital skills courses for businesses and individuals to ensure that the region is equipped with the skills needed to harness new technologies and unlock growth opportunities.
As part of this, the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub is working with Google on a series of pioneering research opportunities.The first of these - the PUMAS study - aims to understand whether smartphone sensors could aid the detection of common conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. As the first study of its kind, it has the potential to save lives, improve health outcomes and free up valuable NHS resources.
Innovation Training Centre
Throughout the Hubās first year, The Hubās Innovation Training Centre has been providing in-depth tailored training to digital innovators working on real world problems. The āpipelineā process begins with a ācall for problemsā where innovators receive support clarifying and defining whether the issues they have raised could be addressed with digital health data. From there, the process moves to a āsandpitā - a workshop where researchers and innovators from different disciplines come together to collaborate and generate new ideas. The Hub mentors the teams of innovators from the development of an idea through to shaping a full funding proposal. At the end of the process, successful teams are invited to pitch their projects to a funding panel.
The journey from concept to funding involved a dynamic and inclusive process designed to foster collaboration and innovation across the region. The process invited participants from all corners of South Yorkshireāpatients, community members, healthcare professionals, and innovatorsāto share their knowledge and ideas.
Developing digital technologies
The Hubās first cohort of innovators have now been awarded Ā£500k of funding to develop seven projects that aim to have a meaningful impact on the regionās health outcomes. The projects range from mobile apps to remotely monitor people with neurological conditions to wearable artificial intelligence technology to create a faster, cheaper, and more accessible way to diagnose coronary artery disease. Full details of the projects will be released soon.
Nick Hamilton, Innovation Lead at South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, said: āThe Pipelineās purpose was to allow our innovators to learn by doing, funding them to prototype and test their digital health innovations.
āThe range and quality of the ideas, all shaped by patients and the public, showed the passion of the teams to solve unmet healthcare needs with digital health data.ā
Looking ahead
The Hub is committed to creating a network across the region, including Barnsley, Rotherham, and Doncaster, that fosters collaboration among people and organisations who do not currently work together. As such, it will continue to explore new approaches to increase public and patient involvement with the development of new technologies.
With the first cohort of projects now underway, the Hub will be launching a second call for ideas, designed to further increase the reach of the Hub across South Yorkshire.
Stay up to date with the Hubās latest developments and opportunities