Gloucestershire health lab examines how innovation can help NHS

Former BBC technology reporter Rory Cellan-Jones was keynote speaker at the launch event

A laboratory has opened to explore how innovations like wearable technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to help the NHS.

The Health Innovation Lab has been created by the University of Gloucestershire and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Staff will examine issues like bed blocking and its impact on getting patients into A&E.

It was partially inspired by ex-BBC technology reporter Rory Cellan-Jones.

The lab aims to help solve large-scale problems facing the NHS such as waiting lists, sharing of information between departments and access to health professionals.

'Solving complex issues'

Claire Richardson, commercial director at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said its first mission was to solve bed blocking and how patients move through hospitals.

"These kinds of things are really complex issues and it's not something that one person can solve," she said.

"It's not something that really one institution can solve, but we're hoping with this unique collaboration we'll actually get some real traction and be able to make a positive difference," added Ms Richardson.

Wearable technology will be used to remotely monitor health conditions to avoid risks of cross-infection on wards and it is hoped AI will help to spot trends and patterns.

Mr Cellan-Jones has written extensively about technology and the health sector and has been a regular NHS patient after being diagnosed with cancer of the eye in 2005 and Parkinson's disease in 2019.

"I have gone through the system and had fantastic care on the one hand, but been slightly shocked by how slow the NHS has been to embrace the digital revolution," he said.

'Profound impact'

The lab is working with a number of other partners, including Google, AstraZeneca, Iceni Labs and the Department for Business and Trade.

It is thought to be the first of its kind and the team hope their ideas will be replicated across the country.

Alex Cottrell, manager of the Growth Hub at the University of Gloucestershire, said she hoped the project would have a "profound" impact on NHS efficiency.

She said: "We all adore the NHS and we're so grateful for it, but I think everyone can see the challenges.

"I am hoping that the lab becomes an exemplar for what can happen throughout the rest of the country."