Healthcare in South Yorkshire to be transformed with new £4m hub

Led by the University of Sheffield, the hub will see collaboration between Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, GPs, mental health services, businesses, the South Yorkshire Integrated Care System and patient and public groups.

The new project hopes to drive development of innovative digital technologies to improve how disease is diagnosed and treated by using cutting-edge research using data from smartphones and wearables, along with NHS data and using artificial intelligence to develop new clinical tools.

From a funding pot of £16.5m for five hubs across the UK, Sheffield has been awarded £4m for its own project by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Health Ageing and Wellbeing and Tackling Infections UKRI Strategic Themes.

Four key healthcare challenges will be looked at by the hub: antimicrobial resistance; health and care outside hospital; tackling health inequalities by developing digital technologies for use in the NHS; and addressing the health needs of underserved communities.

The South Yorkshire Digital Hub covers a region that includes 1.4 million people where there are high levels of disease and health inequality.

It is hoped that the hub will offer new opportunities for improving health and economic growth in the region through skill sharing, training, and connecting diverse stakeholders from healthcare, academia and industry with each other.

It will also offer free specialist health training online for researchers, clinicians, patients and the general public.

Professor Tim Chico, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine from the University of Sheffield and Director of the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, said: “People in South Yorkshire are affected by widening health inequality and high levels of disease, including heart and lung disease, cancer and mental health issues. This investment in cutting-edge health technology research aims to tackle the issue by developing digital healthcare to use in the NHS and benefit patients in our region and beyond.

“The hub will allow colleagues from healthcare, academia, business and patients to come together to drive pioneering digital health which will transform the way we treat and diagnose diseases and most critically improve health.”

Professor Steve Haake is the Deputy Director of the Digital Health Hub, which will be based at Sheffield Hallam University’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre. He said: “The establishment of the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub is a fantastic opportunity for the region.

“Our vision is to develop digital health tools that incorporate information from daily life to help patients and healthcare professionals make the right decisions at the right time. The hub will support patients, clinicians, companies and the general public to design their own apps and tools and help them to be used successfully in the NHS.”

Oliver Coppard, Mayor of the South Yorkshire Combined Authority, said: “The Digital Health Hub will help advance our plans to address the health inequalities holding our region back. South Yorkshire being at the forefront of this work is a testament to the ever-increasing collaboration between the NHS, our Universities and our business community, and yet more evidence of the strength of our cutting-edge health and wellbeing sector.

“As ever, South Yorkshire is rising to the challenges facing our region in a way that is truly world-leading.”