Former BBC technology correspondent, Rory Cellan-Jones, will be the keynote speaker at the launch of a landmark project between University of Gloucestershire and the NHS, aiming to drive digital healthcare transformation and improve patient care in Gloucestershire.

The university and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been collaborating to initiate ambitious plans for a digital innovation centre - the Health Innovation Lab - which will increase capacity to deliver cutting-edge digital research and development in Gloucestershire and across the UK.

The Lab will find innovative solutions to problems facing the NHS, including the 'front door' challenges of trying to efficiently manage large numbers of people seeking care, particularly within Accident & Emergency departments, which can lead to long waiting times, delays in treatment and increased pressure on healthcare professionals.

Initial plans and visions for the Lab will be shared at a launch event hosted by the university at the Gloucestershire Business School, based at the Oxstalls Campus, on Thursday June 1 between 9am and 2.45pm. Tickets for the event are free but must be booked in advance. 

Rory Cellan-Jones will share insights about how digital technology can change lives, including in healthcare, gained from his role with the BBC and as the author of books including Dot.Bomb: The Rise and Fall of Dot.com Britain, The Secret History of Social Networking and Always On: Hope and Fear in the Social Smartphone Era.

The launch event will provide a forum for health leaders, key businesses, academics and students to meet university teams and NHS partners involved in establishing the Lab - Google Cloud, IQVIA, The Evidence Quarter, West of England Academic Heath Science Network and City, University of London.

Activities will include an interactive panel and sprint sessions designed to start investigating the use of innovation to tackle some of the major challenges that the NHS is currently facing.

Dr Polly Pick, director of business engagement and partnership at the university, said: "We are delighted to be hosting the official launch event for the Health Innovation Lab, a landmark project that aims to drive digital healthcare transformation in Gloucestershire.

"Through collaboration and a systems-based approach, the Lab will tackle pressing issues like the 'front door' problem, ultimately creating a sustainable, patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.

"The launch event for the Health Innovation Lab will start the process of driving innovative solutions through expert collaboration of excellent people, ideas and systems."