Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’s world-renowned innovation department has published a new strategy to address the various healthcare challenges faced by children and young people.
The Liverpool trust say its plan aims to “unleash the power of innovation” and develop physical, digital, and automated solutions for acute and chronic childhood conditions like asthma, obesity, and the various neurodevelopmental issues experienced during adolescence.
To achieve its goals, the trust will take advantage of the UK’s largest health Innovation Centre that houses 30 full-time experts who work in a dedicated facility inside the hospital.
Alder Hey Innovation’s Managing Director, Claire Liddy, said: “At the heart of Alder Hey is a commitment to innovate. We are the problem solvers, with a restless impulse to break new ground. We focus sharply on the needs of children, young people and families, and this gives us emotional purpose, driving us to deliver the biggest impact.
“We believe in the opportunity that technology offers as we seek to address the challenges faced. Through harnessing technology, creative thinking and, crucially, through powerful partnerships with those that share our vision, we believe we can tackle today’s healthcare challenges.”
Current initiatives being run at Alder Hey Innovation include:
- Little Hearts at Home, which is a first-of-its-kind remote monitoring solution that allows new-borns and infants with a severe Congenital Heart Defect to get care in their own homes.
- As One Mental Health Platform, which is an integrated platform designed by industry professionals as well as children and young people that acts as a central hub for referrals, support, and resources.
- Lab 2 Life, which harnesses national expertise in a data lab to tackle health inequalities that are caused by poverty.
- WNB, which is an artificial intelligence tool that identifies children that have a higher chance of not attending appointments, subsequently enabling staff to deliver tailored support to families and ultimately level out health inequalities.
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust’s Director of Research and Innovation, Professor John Chester, added: “Alder Hey is a place of outstanding care, amazing people, and world leading clinicians.
“But our ambition goes beyond the day-to-day and the bounds of our hospital. This Innovation Strategy will ensure that we focus on solving the real-world problems children, young people and families face, providing solutions to create healthier, happier, fairer futures for children [in] our region and globally.”
To access the Today’s Child, Tomorrow’s Health Adult strategy, click here.
