A collaboration between the University of Warwick, Arden Cross Ltd and Muse on a HealthTech campus for the West Midlands region has now entered in to Head of Terms.
According to an update from West Midlands Combined Authority, the campus is hoped to bring together the NHS, private providers, the University of Warwick and the industry sector “to support pioneering new start-ups and scale-ups to enter the NHS and global markets”.
The development is also expected to deliver a range of community benefits, including offering access to “medical research and technology” to help drive local health and wellbeing. The agreement now aims to “enable closer working to engage potential investors and partners, as well as allow work to begin on the specification of new facilities.”
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, highlighted how the development would help create “high-quality employment”, building on the region’s “competitive advantage” and helping to improve the lives and health of people “across the region and beyond”.
The announcement was also welcomed by Professor Stuart Croft, vice-chancellor at the University of Warwick, who said: “The Arden Cross HealthTech Campus will leverage the competitive advantage of the West Midlands to accelerate innovation in HealthTech, transform healthcare services and improve patient outcomes locally, nationally, and globally. The ambition of the campus is closely aligned with both the UK’s Industrial Strategy and NHS transformation plans. It has the potential to drive significant value for the UK economy and health system.”
Innovation across the health and care sector
In a recent HTN Now webinar, we focused on the practicalities of AI technologies, exploring topics including implementation, adoption, the role of data, policy, regulation, evaluation and best practices. With the help of our expert panellists, we also took a closer look at examples of AI in health and care, discussing overcoming barriers to AI implementation in practice, and how best to deal with risk and regulation around AI implementation. Panellists included Neill Crump, digital strategy director at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Lee Rickles, CIO, director and deputy SIRO at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust; and Beatrix Fletcher, senior programme manager (AI) at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT).
The National Blueprinting Team also joined us for a webinar showcasing South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust’s latest virtual reality project. Kelsey Dunning, resuscitation officer at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, and project lead for Enabling Effective Learning Environments: Digital Placement, Enhancement and Expansion with Virtual Reality, shared that the project had a number of aims, including clinical placement expansion; exploring new digital ways of working; developing quality virtual placements for the recruitment of students into the future workforce of the trust; and increasing the overall number of placement hours available to multi-professional learners. The HoloLens 2 device is designed to immerse a student into a real-life scenario which Kelsey said creates “a safe learning environment where the students can make mistakes without impacting patient safety”.
The HTN Now Awards were a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate some of the incredible teams and projects making an impact on health and care, celebrating innovation and collaboration from across health and care landscape. Learn more about the health tech innovators, health and care providers and suppliers who have been making an impact for health and care, including insights into their approach, successes and results, here.
