Health service education body partners with national innovation funding council for initiative designed to grow skills and support the use of digital platforms, including in delivering care to remote areas
NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is partnering with the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre to support digital skills and the use of technology by the health service.
NES works to up-skill and educate the health and social care workforce to ensure they can provide quality care. One of its recent studies, examines how digital tools can help assess the effect different medicines have on patients.
Funded by the Scottish Government, DHI is one of seven national innovation centres. It is a collaborative project between the Glasgow School of Arts and the University of Strathclyde. Its remit is to enable support the tech sector in enabling Scottish people to “live longer, healthier lives and provide sustainable and inclusive growth in the economies”.
An action plan – co-designed by both organisations – will focus on five areas including research development and the deployment of innovative technologies. Other areas the plan will focus on are education and training as well as delivering health and social care in remote and rural areas.
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The collaborative project will also support the Scottish Government’s policy to develop a more skilled and knowledgeable workforce.
NES chief executive, Karen Reid said: “We operate within a continually changing environment and a health and social care system which is facing unprecedented challenges. We know that to be successful in achieving our ambition, we must embrace new ways of working, including innovation and advances in technology to enhance our impact across communities and the health and social care workforce. Our collaboration will help us achieve our ambition that staff have the right skills, confidence and motivation to provide better outcomes for the people of Scotland.”
George Crooks, DHI chief executive, added: “Creating a fertile environment where staff feel supported and empowered to utilise next generation digital tools and services to benefit patients, service users and their families while assisting them in their day-to-day activities can only be a good thing.”
This story originally appeared on PublicTechnology sister publication Holyrood
