The CIPHA (Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action) project, which sits within the portfolio of the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership’s Digital Programme, has been named ‘Healthcare Project of the Year’ at the 2021 Bionow awards. An awards ceremony that celebrates the ingenuity, dedication, and accomplishments of those in the biomedical, pharma, and life sciences sectors across the North of England, who have helped to drive innovation that has delivered outstanding results.
Sponsored by Mills & Reeve, the ‘Healthcare Project of the Year’ award, was presented to the CIPHA project team in acknowledgment of a cloud-based centralised data system they developed and deployed within 90 days, to enable a joined-up approach to population health management across the NHS, local government, academic and other agencies, in near-real-time. An approach, that was used successfully to transform the ability of public services within Cheshire and Merseyside to use data to plan and respond effectively to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, delivering the world’s first evidence on voluntary ‘mass testing’ with lateral flow devices, that led to the NHS community testing programme. With CIPHA continuing to be equally instrumental in both supporting COVID-19 recovery plans locally, and in helping to transform health and social care services in many parts of the UK.
An achievement that’s been made possible using multi-agency data analysis blueprints, developed by the CIPHA team along with the UK’s first Civic Data Cooperative, in Liverpool City Region. The blueprints, which are essentially step-by-step guides that can be tailored to suit local needs and requirements, are now being used and enriched by other NHS integrated care systems (ICSs), to fast-track the creation of similar platforms. By sharing this learning CIPHA will help different ICSs, to learn from each other in using data to target health and social care for communities and individuals in more precise and timely ways. And in turn support health and care services across the country, to respond more effectively to outbreaks (like COVID-19), spot patterns and trends (such as health conditions or success rates for treatment outcomes), manage healthcare resources (like care professionals, medicine administration, and service provision), and more.
Speaking about the award, Professor Iain Buchan, Chair in Public Health and Clinical Informatics, and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Liverpool, said: “I’m delighted that the CIPHA project has been named ‘Healthcare Project of the Year’. An award that is a testament to what can be achieved through the concerted efforts of civic partners from many different organisations coming together to make data work harder for residents.” “In the pandemic this has delivered rapid responses of NHS, social care and emergency services to changing needs, while producing world-first scientific evidence that changed policies internationally.” “Looking forward, CIPHA is a blueprint for agility in bringing data, analysts, and decision-makers (including members of the public) together to shape care services and drive innovation in technologies that can support better health and care”.
Alex Chaplin, Chief Digital Information Officer, at the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership added: “Congratulations to the CIPHA team for another prestigious award and moving from strength to strength which can only benefit the citizens of Cheshire and Merseyside”.
