Google backs digital innovation centre for region to combat health inequality

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are working with Google to invest in research and digital skills training across the region.

They have united to form the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, a digital innovation centre which will use this investment to help the region’s tackle health inequalities and drive economic growth.

As part of this, the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub will work with Google on pioneering research opportunities.

The first of these – the PUMAS study – aims to understand whether Pixel smartphone sensors that detect light, radar, and electrical signals from the heart could aid the detection of common conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol and chronic kidney disease.

Tim Chico, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Sheffield and director of South Yorkshire’s Digital Health Hub, said:  “We launched this health hub because we know that the more information we have about patients’ health as early as possible, the more opportunities we will have to make a difference.

“With partners like Google, we are able to look at how we harness technology to support that information gathering, to support patients and medical professionals to make decisions together earlier leading to better outcomes.”

The South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub is a £4m partnership led by the two universities alongside partners in health and business, to drive development of innovative digital technologies to improve the way diseases are diagnosed and treated.

The hub is hosted at Sheffield Hallam’s Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre (AWRC).

Steve Haake, Professor of sports engineering at Sheffield Hallam University and deputy director of the hub, said: “Our vision is to develop digital health tools that incorporate information from daily life to help patients and healthcare professionals make the right decisions at the right time.

“I am pleased to be working collaboratively across the region and with industry partners like Google whose expertise and support will be invaluable to the success of the Digital Health Hub.”

Oliver Coppard

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “I refuse to accept that a baby born in Rotherham today is likely to live a life that is five years shorter than a baby born in a wealthy part of London. I know Google do too.

“That is why this investment from Google is so important; because it both reflects and reinforces our commitment to dramatically improving health outcomes across South Yorkshire, as we continue to make progress towards our goal of becoming the healthiest region in the country”.

To ensure the region is equipped with the digital skills needed to harness these new technologies and unlock growth opportunities, University of Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam University will have access to 500 Google Career Certificate scholarships for their students and people working or aspiring to work in digital health.

These scholarships will cover the cost of Google Career Certificates, training which provides learners with qualifications in subjects such as cybersecurity, data analytics, project management, user experience and IT support.

South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority will also work with Google to fund 30 digital apprenticeships for small businesses in South Yorkshire.

The funding will be made available to local businesses for both upskilling existing employees and supporting new apprentices.

Vice president and managing director for Google UK and Ireland, Debbie Weinstein, added: “We’re proud to be supporting South Yorkshire’s academic, medical and local government institutions as they explore how technology could improve quality of life, alleviate NHS pressures and drive economic growth.”