West Midlands Digital Health and Skills Lab open to life science firms

The West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) has launched a Digital Health and Skills Lab that is now open to life science businesses, and health and care organisations across the region.

Located within the Serendip Digital Health Quarter at iCentrum, the Lab provides a space for the co-design of digital innovations, bringing together health tech businesses, clinicians and patients to develop and test solutions. It is designed to support the WMAHSN’s mission to increase investment in West Midlands life sciences, and to improve the health and wellbeing of people in the region.

The Lab will operate in two phases with the first phase targeting the primary care sector before moving on to focus on secondary and social care.

It will include a place for life sciences businesses to showcase their existing and emerging innovations to clinicians and NHS managers, and jointly develop new offers with them. It will also support the redesign of clinical pathways to exploit the value of technology. The Lab will also offer an environment for people to learn how digital health can impact the West Midlands and improve their technology and data skills.

The Digital Health & Skills Lab will supplement the WMAHSN’s services, including its Serendip Digital Health Incubator. In line with this, the success of the Lab will be measured by its delivery of various benefits. These include increasing capacity of health professionals, improving the patient experience within the NHS, saving money for health and social care and attracting inward investment into businesses in the West Midlands.

Neil Mortimer, head of digital health at WMAHSN, said: “The Digital Health & Skills Lab provides a really exciting opportunity for businesses, NHS professionals and the public to come together and engage with digital health in an interactive and informative environment. We hope that businesses can use this space to test and showcase their innovation for the benefit the whole of the West Midlands. This is another great step towards a better future for healthcare, and we’re excited for the Lab to continue to grow and expand into the secondary and social care sectors.”