UK GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCES £113M FUNDING TO BRING INNOVATION

Ninety-seven of the UK's future science leaders will benefit from a £113 million cash boost to help turn science into new products and services.

Announced by science minister Amanda Solloway this week, the boost will support projects such as robotics to help British farmers, new therapies to tackle chronic illnesses and unlocking the secrets of naturally occurring batteries.

Science Minister Amanda Solloway said: "We are putting science and innovation at the heart of our efforts to build back better from the pandemic, empowering our scientific leaders of tomorrow to drive forward game-changing research that could improve all our lives and boost the UK economy.

Supported by £113 million, the Future Leaders Fellowships will equip our most inventive scientists and researchers across the country with the tools to develop and bring their innovations to market quickly - all while helping to secure the UK’s status as a global science superpower."

APP TO SUPPORT STAFF HAPPINESS

UK-based mental health tech company, Moodbeam has launched a direct entry app aimed at supporting businesses and their employees.

The new function will allow users to directly input their mood entry and acts as a conversation starter, providing the employees with a voice within the organisation.

As with Moodbeam’s wearable formats, the user will press a yellow button to input a happy report, and a blue button for an unhappy one. This data is then tracked within the new dashboard to allow visualisation of patterns and a constructive conversation.

Moodbeam founder, Christina Colmer McHugh, said: “Moodbeam is all about gaining a true understanding of situations, taking successes and failures forward as learnings in a manner that brings teams together to create the changes when and where they are needed the most. This new subscription model – with a set number of free users – allows smaller teams to try the approach and ensure the buy in needed from staff to make a real success of the software, without huge financial strain. It’s also then scalable for businesses of any size."

YEXT LAUNCHES AI-POWERED DOCTOR FINDER SOLUTION

New York-based AI search company, Yext has announced the availability of “Find-a-Doc,” an AI-powered search solution for healthcare organisations to improve the pre-appointment patient experience.

Available to healthcare professionals across the UK and EMEA region, Yext’s research platform, enables patients and healthcare professionals to identify the right provider for their needs on a healthcare organisation’s website. 

When a patient or healthcare provider searches for a specific doctor speciality, insurance type, and other criteria, Find-a-Doc will rely on natural language processing (NLP) to understand the patient’s query and return the doctors that match their criteria and trigger prompts like “make an appointment” and “get directions.”

CERA ANNOUNCES 10 MILLION VISITS TO HOMES DURING PANDEMIC

UK provider of healthcare services at home, Cera has now delivered more than ten million in-person healthcare visits to older and vulnerable people throughout the UK, in their homes, since the outbreak of the pandemic. 

Cera’s digital technology is delivered via its app and is then used by carers and nurses during healthcare visits. It can detect and respond to a deterioration in the health condition of patients 30x faster than traditional methods. The technology also reduces the time it takes to identify and respond to specific symptoms in the home, by monitoring their vital signs and key health data in real-time.

Ben Maruthappu, co-founder and CEO of Cera, said: “At the very start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK, we understood the vital role that Cera’s technology and staff could play in communities throughout the country. Our mission is to empower older people to live longer, healthier, better lives in their own homes, and the pandemic has greatly reinforced just how important accessible, quality home care can be. Throughout the pandemic, our professional carers and nurses have consistently gone above and beyond, despite numerous challenges."

NHS AI ANALYSIS DEALS

Following the news that NHS must explain high levels of pay given to senior managers, UK health secretary, Sajid Javid has said that he would be "watchful for any waste and wokery" as targets are set for NHS funding.

The NHS has advertised manager roles on salaries of up to £270,000, with chief executives created by the government's NHS bills on pay averaging £223,261.

In an attempt to address concerns that the NHS had been given a considerable amount of funding without commitments to improvements, Javid highlighted that funding will be focused on efficiencies in care, in areas such as surgery centres and AI analysis.

REMOTE CONSULTATIONS FLAGGED AS CONCERN

The deaths of six patients seen remotely by GPs during the pandemic has caused senior coroner for Greater Manchester, Alison Mutch to raise concerns.

The deaths between April and February 2020 include suicide, a broken leg, COVID-19 and a drug overdose.

Mutch has written five prevention of future deaths reports highlighting concerns that doctors were missing details in telephone appointments, which may have been spotted in a face-to-face appointment.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Every death is a tragedy and our thoughts are with families and friends who have lost loved ones. Patient safety is a top priority for the government and the health service, and we want everyone to receive the care they need.

“While telephone and remote consultations can be more flexible and convenient, they’re not right for everyone. The government fully supports the need for surgeries to provide face-to-face appointments alongside telephone and online appointments, which practices are already doing.”