Plymouth Community Homes held its first Living Lab event at The Beacon Community Centre in North Prospect last week.
The event marked the official launch of the innovative Living Lab initiative, led by Centre for Health Technology (University of Plymouth), aimed at integrating health technologies into residents' homes as part of a major Project to help improve quality of life and support people to live safely and independently.
The event featured a network of local and national collaborators, including representation from key local partners; Livewell Southwest, University Hospitals Plymouth, Plymouth City Council and NHS Devon. Each organisation set up interactive stands showcasing their health and technology solutions, allowing residents to get hands-on experience with the devices and services on offer.
Residents had a unique opportunity to engage directly with experts from these organisations, learning about the various forms of support and assistance available.
Livewell Southwest provided insights into digital community health services, while Genie Connect demonstrated its innovative Genie robot to enhance home care.
The Centre for Health Technology showcased cutting-edge research and applications developed by Plymouth University and one of their projects Intergenerational Codesign of Novel technologies In Coastal communities (ICONIC), providing interactive VR experience for those without access to technology and at risk of social isolation.
The Living Lab initiative, funded by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration Programme and developed in collaboration with these organisations, focuses on using technology to support frailty management amongst older adults. By co-designing and piloting technologies such as sensors and wearable devices, the initiative aims to enhance the independence of older residents and reduce the need for hospital admissions.
This project places Plymouth at the forefront of community health innovation, establishing one of the largest Living Lab in the world. The project aims to support system transformation and will be exploring the barriers and enablers to bringing real-time data together in a central command and control system, applying advanced data analytics to setting triggers for action, and ensuring safe clinical responses.
Rachael Fox, Partnership Project Manager for Plymouth Community Homes and Livewell, said: “The Health and Housing Partnership is all about how we can work together with other organisations to develop new initiatives that support the health and wellbeing of our residents. The Living Lab will provide residents access to test new technology in their homes, provide their unique ideas and feedback, helping developers co-design safely new technology with end users.
“I am proud that PCH is leading the way in bringing housing and health services together. The Plymouth Living Lab gives our residents an exciting opportunity to support our local health service, helping transform the way they can deliver care in the community, and shaping how the system can support people to remain independent in their homes’.
Jonathan Cowie, Chief Executive at Plymouth Community Homes, said: “We are very proud to be pioneering Plymouth's Living Lab project through our partnership with Livewell Southwest, and it's exciting news this will one of the largest ‘living lab’ in the world.
"Working with world class organisations including the Centre for Health Technology and CISCO will allow us to form new global partnerships as well as creating positive outcomes for our residents, who will not only play a key part in this exciting research but be able to benefit from brand new technology to help them in their daily lives.
"Projects like this demonstrate the real, tangible impact partnership working can bring about, for local people as well for innovative technology companies, and I'm delighted PCH is leading the way in demonstrating this."
Plymouth Community Homes is excited to continue this journey, working closely with residents and partners to shape the future of health technology. The positive feedback and high engagement at the event reflect the community's enthusiasm and willingness to embrace new technologies that can significantly improve their well-being.
