Our ground-breaking study which uses artificial intelligence and internet enabled devices to improve support for people with dementia and their carers was chosen as the regional winner of the NHS Future category in the prestigious NHS70 Parliamentary Awards.
TIHM for dementia was chosen from hundreds of applicants to be the regional champion for the South of England and the win followed backing from Chris Grayling, MP for Epsom and Ewell and Transport Secretary; Michael Gove, MP for Surrey Heath and Environment Secretary and Sam Gyimah, East Surrey MP and Universities and Science Minister.
In a letter to our Trust, MP Chris Grayling, said: “It was fantastic to read of the pioneering study that you have launched and the ability to improve care and safety for patients through the installed technology.”
The NHS70 Parliamentary Awards recognise those individuals or teams that have made the biggest improvements to health services in their constituencies across ten categories.
TIHM for dementia was entered with other regional winners from across England for the national award which was announced at a special ceremony in the Palace of Westminster on 4th July.
The study is based on a network of internet enabled devices, including sensors, monitors and trackers that are installed in the home and, used in combination with artificial intelligence, enable clinicians to remotely monitor a person’s health and safety 24/7. If a problem is identified, clinicians step in to provide the necessary support.
Commenting on the regional win, Dr Helen Rostill, Director of Innovation and Development, said: “Winning this award is fantastic recognition for all of the people involved in delivering this important study: from everyone at our Trust working on TIHM to our partners and, crucially, the people with dementia and their carers, living in Surrey and NE Hampshire, who have taken part.
“We believe TIHM for dementia will, in the long term, enable the NHS to not only offer better support for people with dementia but also people with other long term and complex health needs.”
Dr Payam Barnaghi, Reader in Machine Intelligence at the University of Surrey’s 5G Innovation Centre and a key partner in the study, said: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious award as part of the collaboration on TIHM. The combination of clinical excellence at Surrey and Borders Partnership and technical expertise at the University of Surrey is resulting in pioneering developments in these new technologies to support people with complex health conditions.”
Other key partners are: Royal Holloway University of London, Alzheimer’s Society, Kent Surrey Sussex Academic Health Science Network and technology providers: Yecco, Intelesant, Docobo, Vision 360, Sensely and arqiva.
The study is part of the national Test Bed Programme jointly funded by the Department of Health and NHS England. There are seven test beds looking at how technology can be incorporated into pathways to improve outcomes for people using NHS services.