£150,000 up for grabs in competition for digital Covid-19 responses

Got a digital health solution that could help in the fight against Covid-19? The Welsh government has announced a £150,000 competition for digital coronavirus solutions. 

Supported by Digital Health Ecosystem Wales, the funding is available for between five and eight projects to rapidly pilot solutions.

The competition is open to any UK business with a digital Covid-19 solution ready for testing.

All solutions must tackle one of four key areas including: remote diagnosis and triage of patients; optimising data collection and analysis; tracking, managing, and reporting hospital personal protective equipment (PPE) inventory; and remote citizen support and treatment.

An expert panel from the Welsh government, NHS Wales and NHS Wales Informatics Service will judge entries.

Health secretary, Vaughan Gething, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted an urgent need for new digital technology to help us contain and respond to the virus.

“This call to action could make a massive difference not only in our immediate response to the pandemic, but in our day-to-day health services.

“It is important we embrace digital technologies and use some of their potential to improve routine care. This call to action will help us evaluate the best options and their long-term value.”

Applications close on 8 June. Winners will be notified by 22 June and will be expected to start from 29 June. The rapid pilots will be over the summer, with an evaluation in September to review the potential for scalability across Wales.

For more information or to apply visit the Life Sciences Hub Wales here.