Debate over future of NHS technology

HEALTH SECRETARY Matt Hancock is heading to Paris today to meet world leaders to discuss ways to fast-track new healthcare technologies for use in the NHS.

He is due to attend the GovTech summit alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and other EU ministers.

The summit will look at how emerging technologies can be used to revolutionise healthcare.

He is due to sit on a panel at Paris City Hall titled “From Lab to Gov: Harnessing the power of innovation” to discuss the importance of embracing the latest advances in tech and artificial intelligence (AI) for health and social care.

Mr Hancock said: “I’ve said I’ll scour the world to find technology to improve the NHS.

“So as we build the most dynamic HealthTech ecosystem on the planet, it’s vital we work closely with our friends and neighbours.

“Britain and France have a centuries long tradition of medical collaboration and now we want to turn that into a collaboration on cutting edge health technology.”

Among the other delegates are representatives from the UN and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development as well as a number of academics and representatives from tech giants like Facebook and Microsoft and smaller tech start ups.

Also attending will be Cabinet Office minister for implementation Oliver Dowden to promote the UK’s life sciences, genomics and AI sectors.