Event To Drive Forward Patient Focused Healthcare

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 11 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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CPD4Health Innovation is facilitating a ground breaking event, The Missing Expertise, which will bring together service users, carers, health technology companies, NHS staff and higher education representatives.

The event will take place on 2 July at the University of Leeds and will promote the development of patient centered technology which will assist people living with long term health conditions.

Speakers will include Debbie Purdy, a multiple sclerosis sufferer from Bradford, who was recently involved in a high profile court case as part of her battle to ensure her husband is immune from prosecution if she chooses to end her life at Swiss clinic Dignatis.

Debbie has been wheelchair bound due to MS since 2001 and will talk about how technology has helped her live with her condition and improvements that could be made.

Andy Speechly, of Independent Care Products Ltd, who recently won the Medical Devices and Diagnostics Category at the Medipex Awards 2009 will also speak at the event. He won the award for inventing a mobile bidet/ dryer commode, originally designed to help a friend who had suffered a stroke.

Elaine McNichol Director of CPD4 Health Innovation said: "I am a passionate believer that the development of medical technology should be focused on the needs of the patient. It is extremely important to talk to patients with long term health conditions and find out problems that they have to deal with in their everyday lives and develop technology which provides solutions to these problems. Often these can be relatively simple solutions which can make a huge impact on people's quality of life; however they simply are not available due to lack of dialogue.

"The NHS is increasingly adopting a patient-led care strategy and with an aging population, there is a growing market of elderly people who will independently purchase healthcare products to improve their quality of life, if they are not available from the NHS."

Debbie Purdy commented: "I think this event will essentially improve people lives. Getting representatives from the different sectors together is like putting a safety net between their roles, so patients don't fall through and have access to the best care to meet their needs."

Andy Speechly of Independent Care Products said: "I developed the mobile bidet / dryer commode following one of my friends having a stroke and suffering incontinence problems. It has real benefits for patients, improving their quality of life by helping them go to the toilet in a dignified manner. It also reduces the amount of unpleasant tasks which carers need to perform.

"I hope this event will promote to both healthcare technology businesses and NHS buyers that patient needs should be at the centre of technological innovation."

You can register for this one day master class online at http://www.cpdhealthinnovation.org.uk or by calling 0113 343 1385. There is a £40 registration fee for participants based in the Yorkshire and Humber region and a £100 fee for those based outside the region.

CPD4 Health Innovation aims to work with key partners of patients, the NHS, industry and higher education, to facilitate the development of technological solutions to improve patient care. It is supported by the White Rose Health Innovation Partnership and The Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward.

About CPD4 Health Innovation

Health technology innovation, development and adoption needs to be driven by patient and public need, the untapped expertise of the patient is central to achieving this goal. CPD4 Health Innovation's aim is to facilitate this process by creating learning environments where the key partners of patients and public, NHS, industry and higher education come together to learn and share along side each other. CPD4 Health Innovation aims to facilitate and speed up the flow of appropriate technology that will be of benefit to the end user.

CPD4 Health Innovation is supported by the White Rose Health Innovation Partnership and The Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward.

Source
CPD4 Health Innovation

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