Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

👇 News

🫁 Scientists have developed a wearable ‘sticker’ that can accurately monitor and detect changes in people’s breathing – even when not in direct contact with the skin. Designed to be wirelessly interfaced with a dedicated smartphone or tablet app, it hoped that the device can be used in healthcare settings and in the home to provide a crucial early warning for declining health, potentially saving lives. The work at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton, was made possible with almost £1m  in funding from the National Institute for Health Research.

💰 The LEAP Digital Health Hub has awarded more than £1m to 15 collaborative digital health research projects and fellowships across the South West and Wales, supported by more than £410,000 in funding from partner organisations. The projects, which are being carried out by teams at the universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth, include an AI-powered virtual assistant to increase engagement with the CareADHD app and video-powered fall detection tech.

❌ Two days of strike action at pathology IT provider Synnovis have been suspended to allow talks to take place. More than 500 pathologists were due to strike between 16–20 December over a restructure that had introduced threats of redundancy, downgrading and reduced staffing levels, which laboratory staff said put patient safety at risk. Strike action on 16 and 17 December was suspended while talks between Unite and Synnovis took place. The three remaining days of industrial action are expected to “significantly disrupt services at all affected hospitals in London” unless an agreement is reached, Unite said on 17 December.

🏆 Telecare monitoring service Llesiant Delta Wellbeing has been awarded the Social Care Innovation through Collaboration Award at the MediWales Innovation Awards 2024. The company was recognised for its CONNECT service, which provides proactive, technology-enabled care to support older individuals in living at home. This support helps reduce hospital admissions, easing pressure on emergency services and the local health and social care sector.

🚀 Health IT provider Wandsworth Healthcare has opened a Digital Patient Journey Experience Centre at its headquarters in Woking, Surrey, to showcase a variety of integrated digital solutions. The centre combines the company’s nurse call solutions with tech from Scandinavian health IT provider DNV Imatis, including task management, bed capacity management, alarm management and patient engagement. The Digital Patient Journey Experience Centre is open to guided tours and will also be available as a venue for industry workshops and seminars.

❓ Did you know?

More than half (58%) of healthcare data leaders fear falling behind competitors if they fail to adopt AI, according to Ataccama’s Data Trust Report 2025.

The survey of 300 data leaders across the US, UK and Canada found that, while 66% of organisations have implemented some AI solutions, only 37% have integrated them company-wide. Key barriers include data security concerns (37%), steep implementation costs (29%) and high maintenance expenses (16%).

Improving data quality and accuracy remains a key issue, with 42% of respondents identifying this as their top data management priority for 2025. Legacy systems pose an additional challenge, with 63% of healthcare leaders struggling to integrate new technologies.

📖 What we’re reading

The National Data Guardian 2023-2024 report, published on 5 December, outlines progress on improving access to health and social care data in England. Led by Dr Nicola Byrne, the National Data Guardian for health and adult social care in England, the report highlights efforts to strengthen data sharing for direct care, with a focus on addressing barriers like fragmented systems and uncertainty around data protection laws.

The report highlights progress on initiatives like the NHS Federated Data Platform (FDP) and plans for a single patient record, aimed at giving clinicians reliable access to patient information across care settings. It emphasises the need to “get the basics right,” such as ensuring clinicians can access essential data, to lay the groundwork for more advanced digital tools.

Looking ahead, the report underscores the importance of clear governance and public engagement, particularly around AI-driven data use and opt-out systems, to sustain public trust. Priorities for 2024-2025 include supporting FDP implementation and promoting the ethical, transparent use of health data for research and service planning.

🚨 Upcoming events

30 January 2025, virtual event – NHS Digital Transformation 2025