A new public awareness week will champion technology in health and wellbeing and ‘shine a light’ on how the public can use their smart phones and computers to improve their lives.

The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) has developed Discover Digital: for your health and wellbeing in partnership with the Scottish Government, NHS 24, NHS NSS and BCS Health & Care Scotland. The week aims to increase awareness and involve the public in shaping the range of technologies used to deliver digital healthcare in Scotland in the future. The events take place in Dundee (21 October) and Glasgow (22 – 26 October).

Discover Digital will launch at the Dundee Science Festival. Along with various events and an exhibition at the Glasgow Science Centre featuring The Google Digital Garage Bus, the week will bring together ground-breaking initiatives (and the brains behind them) to show the public how they can get involved in improving their health now, and for the future.

The exhibitions will offer lots of opportunities to get hands on with different innovations and technologies.  Visitors will be able to test gadgets that can keep them safe in their homes, see how interactions with GPs and specialists might be carried out via video-conferencing or text and understand more about the ways cutting edge technologies such as 3D printing, smart speakers and virtual reality can be employed for our health and wellbeing.

Jeane Freeman, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport said: “The ‘Discover Digital’ events on the 21st and 24th of October are the first of their kind across the UK and offer a unique opportunity for people to go along and learn about what is happening here in Scotland using digital in better and more meaningful ways in health and care. The Scottish Government is committed to supporting people to better manage their own health and wellbeing and digital will continue to play a key part in that – and with your ticket giving you access to the Dundee and Glasgow Science Centres, this will be a great day out for all the family.”

Ian Welsh Chief Executive, the ALLIANCE said“This is the first time we’ve brought together these prominent life-changing technologies together with the ambition of introducing the public to ways in which they can improve and enhance their health or the health of their family through the use of technology.  This is an exciting time in Scotland with many great minds working to develop these innovations; I would urge anyone with an interest in health and wellbeing to come along to one of our events in Dundee or Glasgow to find out more and also to help shape the future of technology in healthcare.”

The week’s events will explore in more detail the ways in which technology can support people with their help and wellbeing:

  • Product Forge will bring together groups of individuals, supported by experienced mentors, to map out their health stories to help shape the future of technology in health.
  • Mindwaves, GAMH and YoungScot will get a group of young people together to explore the question: ‘what are the 10 things that help our mental wellbeing and how might we tell our friends about them?’
  • The Digital Health & Care Institute (DHI) will showcase how digital technology can improve your experience and the quality of your health and care.
  • NHS24 have partnered up with Age Scotland, Deaf Scotland, SCVO and the Digital Directorate to ask the question we all need answered: does digital really work for you?

New-media partners for the week are Scottish start-ups Beezer and Pocket Sized Hands.

The Dundee launch is delivered in collaboration with the Dundee Science Festival and Create Converge: Connecting creative digital to show, tell and sell, supported by the European Union North Sea Region VB Programme.

For more information on attending and information on how to book FREE tickets, please go to www.alliance-scotland.org.uk/DiscoverDigital.