Latest health tech funding competition announced The Department of Health and Social Care announced another competition for “innovative” health tech to coincide with secretary of state Steve Barclay’s appearance at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. A news release says the 42 integrated care systems in England will be invited to submit bids for a share of £30 million that could be used for anything from virtual wards to 3D scans to drones. Barclay said the money could be used to ease pressure on hospitals “this winter”. But the DHSC “expects” applications to open this month, for projects that must be delivered before the end of the financial year.

Sunak announces phased ban on smoking The surprise announcement at the Conservative Party conference was prime minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to bring in a phased ban on smoking by raising the age at which it will be legal to buy tobacco by a year every year. Sunak described the move as “the biggest public health intervention in a generation.” Asked why he had decided on such an illiberal policy, when his administration has rowed back on measures to cut pollution and road deaths and put off plans to tackle obesity on the grounds of personal “choice”, he claimed smoking is different because there is “no safe level of smoking” (BBC News).

NHS England announces public consultation on the use of health data, as Palantir looks nailed on for the Federated Data Platform contract NHS England has announced that members of the public “will be asked to shape how the NHS uses their health data” in a series of events next year. In a news release, it says one of the topics to be discussed will be the Federated Data Platform. This week, financial newswire Bloomberg reported that subject to final approvals and legal issues, Palantir Technologies could be announced as the winner of the FDP tender as early as this month. Palantir is immensely controversial, because it was co-founded by “conservative libertarian” Peter Thiel and has close links to US defence and law enforcement.   NHS England caused controversy by using Palantir and its Foundry technology during the Covid-19 pandemic and was forced to promise that it would run a public consultation before extending the company’s involvement with the NHS (Open Democracy). This has not stopped former officials advising the company (New York Times) or NHS England awarding Palantir a series of multi-million contracts (digitalhealth.net). The deal continues to be opposed by legal and privacy campaigners (medConfidential) and medical groups. But NHS England seems determined to sell it to the public by emphasising what it considers to have been good work during the pandemic and the vaccine roll-out.

NHS England publishes ‘inclusive digital healthcare’ framework NHS England has published an ‘Inclusive digital healthcare’ framework for the NHS, Health Tech Newspaper has reported (link includes link to full document). The framework identifies five domains to address to ensure inclusivity: access to devices and data, usability, skills and capability, belief and trust, and leadership and partnership. The framework outlines some specific guidance and standards for commissioners to meet, while stressing that, overall, new digital services should be open to all, ‘relatable’, at least as good as non-digital services, well supported, and open to feedback. It also includes case studies to encourage best practice.

Health IT news: Buckinghamshire Healthcare tackles waits and surgical pathways with Graphnet dashboard, North Tees launches Health Call appointments management app Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust is triaging its waiting lists and streamlining its surgical pathways with a dashboard built out from its shared care record, digitalhealth.net has reported. The work, which DHI says is the first example linked to an SCR, has been done in collaboration with provider Graphnet Health. North Tees NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with a patient engagement platform that will enable patients to see and manage appointments through the NHS App, digitalhealth.net has reported. The platform has been developed with Health Call, an NHS-owned digital company serving trusts in the North West.

Company news: C2-Ai launches Precisia Life Sciences; Qure.ai takes part in LungIMPACT trial; Oto and Lindus Healthcare test tinnitus CBT app; Agilio Software acquires iatro; Kontakt.io promotes smart hospital ops solutions UK healthcare company C2-Ai has formally launched Precisia Life Sciences to use new data insights to develop medicines to address clinical risks in populations and under-served groups of patients. The new company is already talking to medicines developers and healthcare organisations about partnerships (Pharmiweb.com). A trial is underway to test the potential of AI to detect lung cancer, digitalhealth.net has reported. The LungIMPACT trial is a collaborative study between academics, NHS hospitals and Qure.ai, and is using its qXR solution to see if it can accurately triage chest x-rays referred by GPs and pick up abnormalities faster.   Digital health company Oto and clinical trial start-up Lindus Healthcare have launched a remote, digital trial of a cognitive behavioural therapy programme to help patients live with tinnitus, Health Tech World has reported. Agilio Software has announced the acquisition of iatro, a specialist digital primary care provider, Health Tech Newspaper has reported. Agilio Software provides a platform for HR, CPD, risk compliance and asset management, while iatro delivers websites and patient communications. A company called Kontakt.io is advocating the use of wireless networks and sensors in walls and equipment to track interactions around a hospital and improve operational efficiency, Health Tech World has reported.