New Digital Health Hub for the south west of England and Wales

Five universities have formed a brand new Digital Health Hub, to elevate the south west of England and Wales’ digital health capabilities.

The £4.11m hub aims to surface unmet health and care needs and shape and nurture new collaborative research projects that bring together new partnerships of industry, academia, patients, carers and healthcare professionals.

The Leadership, Engagement, Acceleration and Partnership (LEAP) brings together the University of Bristol, University of Bath, the University of the West of England, Cardiff University and the University of Exeter – including NIHR Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula. They are joined by Health Data Research UK.

The University of Bristol will be leading the hub, which is one of five new digital health hubs funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council.

Professor Christos Vasilakis, director, University of Bath’s Centre for Healthcare Innovation and Improvement: “LEAP represents a significant milestone in advancing digital health capabilities in the South West of England and Wales. By leveraging the collective expertise of academia and industry partners, we are really excited to be part of an effort with the potential to unlock new avenues for research, innovation, and partnership, ultimately enhancing the region’s healthcare ecosystem.”

Alongside the core institutional partners, the LEAP partnership network extends to 21 supporting companies nationally, seven NHS trusts and health boards, four social care organisations, five local authorities, Health Innovation West of England and business incubator SETsquared.

Over three years, the digital health hub will deliver a unique portfolio of training as part of its Skills and Knowledge Programme, leveraging expertise from LEAP’s university partners. Alongside this, the LEAP’s Research and Fellowship Programmes will pilot new mechanisms for doing research and will help to support and develop future leaders. The first calls for collaborative pilot research projects and fellowship schemes are to be announced this spring.

LEAP’s director, Professor Ian Craddock based at Bristol’s School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, said: “The hub and our partners see this as a unique opportunity to make a step change in the field of digital health, bringing together and funding new relationships across academia, industry, health and social care.”