Welsh Government have announced a new funding competition for digital solutions to help fight Covid-19. The competition is being supported by Digital Health Ecosystem Wales and funding is available for between five and eight projects to rapidly pilot products and solutions.
How the competition works
The competition is open to any UK business who has a digital solution to fight Covid-19. The solution must be developed and ready for testing during the application process.
All solutions must tackle one of four themed areas:
- Remote diagnosis and triage of patients
- Optimising data collection and analysis
- Tracking, managing, and reporting hospital personal protective equipment (PPE) inventory
- Remote citizen support and treatment
These solutions will be judged by an expert panel from Welsh Government, NHS Wales and the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS).
The deadline for applications is Monday 8 June at 9am.
Successful projects will be notified by 22 June 2020 and will be expected to start from 29 June. The rapid pilots will be over the summer, with an evaluation in September to review the potential for scalability across Wales.
Vaughan Gething MS, Minister for Health and Social Services, said:
“The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted an urgent need for new digital technology to help us contain and respond to the virus.
“This call to action could make a massive difference not only in our immediate response to the pandemic, but in our day-to-day health services.
“It is important we embrace digital technologies and use some of their potential to improve routine care.
"This call to action will help us evaluate the best options and their long-term value.”
Helen Northmore, Manager of the Digital Health Ecosystem Wales programme, which is a collaboration between Life Sciences Hub Wales and the NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS), said:
“Technology can help transform the way NHS Wales delivers healthcare services. This competition is a perfect opportunity to test and develop technologies that offer the largest impact and best value solutions during coronavirus and beyond.
“The Digital Health Ecosystem is delighted to support this competition – this critical funding from the Welsh Government will enable rapid evaluate potential digital innovations for health and care delivery in Wales.”
Cari-Anne Quinn, Chief Executive Officer of Life Sciences Hub Wales, said:
“This competition offers an opportunity for businesses to demonstrate how they can support the Welsh Covid-19 response. Developing new ways of working is critical, and the use of new technologies and digital innovation could ultimately save lives. If you’ve got a product or solution, please get in touch today!”
How to apply
If you think your business has what it takes, apply today.
All applications must be submitted through the Life Sciences Hub Wales innovation portal.
The deadline for applications is Monday 8 June 2020 at 9am.