Patients, carers and health experts in Cornwall are invited to discuss the key challenges they face in health and social care at upcoming workshops.
Co-run by the University of Plymouth, the events will help to explore the problems and discuss whether technology can provide a solution – thanks to a project known as EPIC (eHealth Productivity and Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly).
By working out the challenges locals face, the project team can explore potential collaborations between the group members and Cornish businesses, in order to further develop their ideas.
The afternoon will also include a presentation on the project’s background and outcomes, along with a showcase of different technologies such as robots to highlight what is possible.
Tracie North, Vice-Chair of the Duchy Health Charity is encouraging as many people as possible to take part. She said:
“People in Cornwall have been brilliant at innovating in the past to solve really difficult problems, think of the beam engines that are still a visible testimony to our industrial ancestors. Today we need the same inventiveness to design the technological solution to problems that carers and the cared for face every day in every location in Cornwall.
"The EPIC team needs to hear from carers and those being cared for to understand how creative design and technology may improve the quality of lives for both those caring and those being cared for. Please come to one of the nine EPIC workshops being held across the county. One shared problem may change the face of care for everyone.”
Project director Professor Ray Jones said the project can help Cornwall to become a leader in using technology in health and social care, and that the needs of local people were a key priority. He said:
"This is a great opportunity for Cornwall to become a centre of excellence in the use of technology for health and social care. It involves people with a range of expertise from across the University, including nursing, medicine, psychology, robotics, business, and public health, and we want to hear from locals to take a ‘bottom up’ approach to find or develop technologies that will improve services.
“The project involves an international link with universities in Brisbane Australia. At the end of three years we hope to have found new ways in which Cornwall can ‘export’ its expertise or services to the rest of the UK or beyond while also effectively delivering health and social care for the whole of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.”
Launched in May 2017, EPIC is a three-year project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
Contact Katie Edwards for more information on +44 1752 588805.
EPIC is a collaborative project partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund with additional financial support from the South West Academic Health Science Network. The University of Plymouth and partners aim to improve the use of eHealth in Cornwall.
We aim to improve the use of technology in both health and social care hoping:
The EPIC project started in May 2017 and will run for three years.
Follow @EPIC_eHealth on Twitter.
