Twelve months on, the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub (SYDHH) is making strides towards tackling the serious health inequalities that exist in the region.

What started as a vision to transform the way patients are treated in South Yorkshire has grown into a thriving community that shares the passion for transforming the way healthcare is delivered in South Yorkshire and beyond. beyond.

Led by the University of Sheffield in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University, the £4 million hub strives to improve people’s health and quality of life by creating innovative digital health tools that merge data from daily living activities with NHS data.

In its first year, the Hub has forged strong partnerships with regional hospitals, GPs, mental health services, businesses, South Yorkshire’s integrated care system and patient groups and the public to develop technologies that will 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: “The 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 committed to transforming health care and addressing health inequities. By working together and breaking down barriers, we are paving the way for a healthier, more equitable future for our region.

After guiding its first cohort of groundbreaking projects through the Innovation Pipeline and rewarding them £500,000 fundingthe Hub looks back on a busy first year.

Building a community of practice

Actively engaging and involving members of the public is a central part of the Hub’s mission.

The Hub aims to foster collaboration and ensure that digital tools benefit everyone, especially marginalized groups. THE First citizen jury of the Hub on digital health Last winter provided a fascinating insight into how this inclusive “community of practice” philosophy works in practice.

The jury, made up of citizens residing locally, dedicated their Saturday to devoting the day to discussing digital health, its role in combating inequalities and possible concerns. At the end of the session, participants presented a series of recommendations in areas ranging from data privacy to the importance of complementing existing NHS services.

Maryam Khan, hub manager at the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, said: “Working in an environment where the process is shaped by diverse points of view seemed really refreshing to me.

“Our collaborative, multidisciplinary approach also serves to highlight how crucial these diverse perspectives are in our mission to improve regional health outcomes.

Invest in the region

February saw the announcement of Google investment in health technology research and training to help tackle inequalities, improve the region’s skills and drive economic growth. The announcement included scholarships, apprenticeships and free digital skills courses for businesses and individuals to ensure 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 make it easier to detect common illnesses 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 center

Throughout the first year of the Hub, the Innovation training center provides in-depth, tailored training for digital innovators working on real-world problems. The “pipeline” process begins with an “issue call” where innovators receive support to clarify and define whether the issues they raised could be solved with digital health data. From there, the process moves into a “sandbox”: a workshop where researchers and innovators from different disciplines come together to collaborate and generate new ideas. The Hub supports teams of innovators from the development of an idea to the development of a complete funding proposal. At the end of the process, the selected teams are invited to present their project to a financing panel.

The journey from concept to funding involved a dynamic and inclusive process designed to foster collaboration and innovation in the region. The process invited participants from all corners of South Yorkshire – patients, community members, healthcare professionals and innovators – to share their knowledge and ideas.

Develop digital technologies

The Hub’s first cohort of innovators have now received £500,000 of funding to develop seven projects aimed at making a significant impact on the region’s health outcomes. 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 heart disease. Full project details will be released soon.

Nick Hamilton, head of innovation at the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, said: “The goal of the Pipeline was to enable our innovators to learn by doing, by funding them to prototype and test their digital health innovations.

“The range and quality of ideas, all shaped by patients and the public, showed the teams’ passion for addressing unmet health needs through digital health data. »

Looking to the future

The Hub is committed to creating a network across the region, including Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster, which promotes collaboration between people and organizations who do not currently work together. In this capacity, he will continue to explore new approaches to increase public and patient participation in the development of new technologies.

With the first cohort of projects underway, the Hub will launch a second call for ideas, designed to further increase the Hub’s reach across South Yorkshire.

Stay informed about the latest Hub developments and opportunities