Northern Ireland to become European centre of excellence for health care technology

Northern Ireland is leading the way in developing new technologies to help people with chronic conditions live independently at home.

Health Minister Michael McGimpsey and Economy Minister Nigel Dodds today announced the establishment of a ‘European Centre for Connected Health’ in Northern Ireland at the Connected Health Conference in the Waterfront in Belfast. The new Centre will take forward the introduction of new technologies to offer a better quality of life to people with long-term conditions such as diabetes or respiratory diseases.

The Health Minister also announced a further major boost for people with chronic conditions with the news that by 2011 at least 5,000 people in Northern Ireland will have access to a remote monitoring service for their conditions.

In addition, he said that a new system will be introduced to eliminate X-rays.

Mr McGimpsey said: “Improving the quality of our health and social care services is essential as we strive to meet the challenges ahead. Our population is changing. We have a growing number of older people, many with chronic conditions such as respiratory and heart disease and diabetes who rely heavily on our health service. We need to be more innovative in the way we provide health and social care services to the population, he said.

“Through partnership working with colleagues throughout Europe there is real potential for Northern Ireland to become a model health and social care economy for others to follow. There are also strong economic arguments for pursuing this goal and I am very pleased that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment is sharing this platform with me today.

“The European Centre for Connected Health, based here in Northern Ireland, will focus on developing the region as a connected health economy, introducing new technologies and working closely with the health and social care system to deliver this.

“By embracing the concept of Connected Health and applying the technology of today to improve our services, we will also sow the seeds for the different kinds of services our communities will require to meet their needs tomorrow.”

Economy Minister Nigel Dodds said, “Northern Ireland is a prime location for life science businesses, thanks to our unique combination of fresh talent and world-class research capabilities.

“We in Government recognise that we can achieve critical mass and a strong leadership position by combining our health and economic resources, to win new business opportunities for Northern Ireland, whilst delivering improvements to the management of chronic diseases.

“The European Centre for Connected Health provides a focal point for this convergence of health and economic activity. We expect that the Centre will enhance Northern Ireland’s international profile and drive real economic and health benefits.”

Notes to Editors:

1. The ‘Developing a Connected Health Economy’ event is being held in Belfast as part of the Continua Healthcare Alliance Winter Summit.
2. The Continua Healthcare Alliance is a non profit open industry alliance of some of the largest health care and technology companies in the world which have joined together to improve the quality of healthcare by the promotion of the use of technology to more proactively address ongoing healthcare needs.
3. ‘Connected Health’ is the term given to the interaction between patients and healthcare providers, transmission of data between patients and/or health professionals and between institutions. It also includes health information networks, electronic health records telemedicine services and personal wearable and portable communication systems for monitoring and supporting patients.

Media queries to Sarah Williams, DHSSPS Press Office on 02890 522841, or 07788 433707 and DETI Press Office on 028 9052 9348.