"Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL) welcome today’s Health and Sport Committee report on Technology and Innovation in Health and Social Care .

Advancing innovation is a clinical and cost imperative and the future use of technology in health and social care offers exciting opportunities. Whilst Scotland has a proven track record of medical innovation the need to evolve our service to meet new patterns of care, increased demand and technological advances is critical in delivering modern, innovative, and sustainable service for the future.

The inquiry has been timely and significant contributions from stakeholders across Scotland demonstrates commitment to this common aim. SHIL has played a full role in contributing to the inquiry. With a primary focus on encouraging innovation, including digital health solutions, from within NHS Scotland; we have been able to highlight the talent and entrepreneurism that exists within our health service and the value of a strong, integrated and importantly national approach to innovation with clear pathways to support the health workforce and accelerate new treatments and technologies to improve patient care.

I believe that has added an additional dimension to the inquiry and our position remains that to create a vibrant, connected, coherent healthcare innovation ecosystem in Scotland, we need:

• clear national leadership and strategic direction that recognises the perspectives of all participants in the healthcare innovation ecosystem
• a consistently supportive culture within and throughout the NHS
• adequate innovation lifecycle funding
• the right infrastructure within the NHS nationally to support and facilitate innovation
• improved access to the expertise needed to turn ideas into successes
• adequate access to the NHS for all relevant external stakeholders.

We therefore support the Committees conclusion to be bold, offer strong leadership and radically develop the way technology is used in the NHS and social care.

The future is now and SHIL are ready to play a full part in delivering transformational change – lets simplify the landscape, refine roles, align activities, optimise resources, and achieve closer sector collaboration, which can capitalise on the advantages a single, unified health system can offer in accelerating change on a national level.

Scotland can be a leader in this area and we look forward to the new Digital Health and Social Care Strategy publishing in the Spring”

Graham Watson, Chairman - Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL)

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