Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
April 18, 2013
MANCHESTER and TOKYO, April 18, 2013 - The NHS in Greater Manchester, the Manchester Academic Health Science Centre and North West e-Health (a joint-venture partnership between the University of Manchester, Salford Royal NHS Trust and NHS Salford), have signed an MOU with Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. and Eagle Matrix Consulting Co., Ltd. to explicitly work together towards planning and developing informatics technology to manage and improve patient care and population health.
Masaya Watanabe, Vice President and Executive Officer of Hitachi, Ltd., who is also the Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Innovation Officer of Hitachi's Information and Telecommunication Systems Company, remarked "it is a great honour to be able to combine Hitachi Group's cutting-edge technologies with the healthcare infrastructure and development friendly environment offered by the NHS in Greater Manchester. Healthcare is one the core focus areas of Hitachi's ‘Social Innovation Business.' Our ideas on how informatics can transform the delivery, experience and management of healthcare will be a key business driver for us over the next decade. This partnership offers us the opportunity to contribute towards the enhancement of healthcare in the UK and eventually duplicate this model in other regions around the world.
Hiroshi Ashibe, President of Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd., praised the momentum of the discussions noting that there is a "clear advantage in leveraging the synergies both in vision and technology between the Hitachi Group and the NHS in Manchester, where the wider health economy provides the ideal launch pad for innovative health services. We are very excited to be working with the NHS in Manchester in exploring this potential further."
Chief executive of Eagle Matrix Consulting Co., Ltd., Yoshito Date explains "We are looking at technology as a facilitator of change, where the holistic integration of public and private health data will create an open service and technology ecosystem that enables innovation for the better management of our health providing much needed focus on the new social paradigm of personalised health."
Professor Ian Jacobs, MAHSC Director said "We are delighted to be combining our expertise here in Manchester with a company as prestigious as the Hitachi Group. This initiative affords us a tremendous opportunity to develop new products and services of significant benefit to the NHS and people of Greater Manchester but it is also our joint intention to ensure scalability for the wider benefit of the rest of the UK". He added that "As a partnership organisation with a strong focus on both ‘health and wealth', MAHSC has been able to support the relationship with the Hitachi Group not just for our own members but also on behalf of the wider regional NHS community, now being drawn together under the Gt. Manchester Academic Health Science Network "
Professor Martin Gibson, Chief Executive of North West e-Health (NWeH) remarked, "The MOU with the Hitachi Group signals a really exciting time for Greater Manchester's health economy. From a NWeH perspective, the agreement means we can pool the expertise and knowhow from all the parties involved and take our healthcare technology development to the next level, developing better outcomes for NHS patients in the process."
As Chief Executive of NHS Manchester, Dr Mike Burrows explained "I am really excited that we have established this agreement with the Hitachi Group. By utilising the wealth of our data more efficiently in combination with appropriate technology we can improve our service delivery and public health support", he also noted that "It was a delight to meet the Hitachi team as part of the signing process and I look forward already to the further discussions we have planned."
The discussions between Hitachi and the NHS in Manchester have been supported by UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Department of Health. Dr Mark Treherne, CEO of UKTI's Life Science Investment Organisation, commented "The UK has a huge amount to offer in health innovation specifically within the health informatics space as demonstrated by this MOU with Hitachi, Ltd. and Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. The on-going appetite for industry and the NHS to partner up makes the UK an ideal place for a company like the Hitachi Group to develop ideas collaboratively. The NHS with 60+ million patients has access to unrivalled, clinically coded, granular health data, providing a unique opportunity to test innovative approaches to health informatics in order to meet end patient benefit."
The six parties will be working over the next year in designing detailed technology and service applications tailored towards the population of Greater Manchester.
Hitachi, Ltd., (TSE: 6501),
headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2011 (ended March 31, 2012) consolidated revenues totalled 9,665 billion yen ($117.8 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, industrial, transportation and urban development systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them.
For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan and works with Hitachi, Ltd. to develop business models that combine cutting edge technology and management techniques for innovation in social infrastructure.
For more information on Hitachi Consulting, please visit the company's website at www.hitachiconsulting.co.jp/english/index.html
Eagle Matrix Consulting is a consulting company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and is a strategic partner to Hitachi Consulting Co., Ltd.
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (‘MAHSC') is a Federation of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, Salford Primary Care Trust (NHS Salford), Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, University Hospital South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust and The University of Manchester, enabled by a Company Limited by Guarantee. MAHSC acts to develop an effective shared vision and strategy for the rapid dissemination and translation of health research into practice in Greater Manchester for the benefit the patients and people of Greater Manchester.
For more information on MAHSC, please visit the company's website at www.mahsc.ac.uk.
North West e-Health develops innovative software for healthcare research within the NHS, public and private sector. It is a not-for-profit collaborative venture between three MAHSC members, Salford Royal Foundation Trust (SRFT), Salford Primary Care Trust (NHS Salford) and The University of Manchester, an arrangement which provides unique access to expertise and data.
For more information on NWeH, please visit the company's website at
www.nweh.org.uk.
NHS Greater Manchester (‘NHS GM) encompasses the 10 Primary Care Trusts which exist in the conurbation of Greater Manchester that clustered together to manage smooth transitioning to the new commissioning arrangements. From 1 April 2013 Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will take over from each of the Primary Care Trusts and will be responsible for buying health services for the people of their locality. The newly formed Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network (‘GM AHSN) includes all MAHSC members, all other NHS organisation in Greater Manchester plus part of East Cheshire and Lancashire in addition to three other Higher Education Institutions - The University of Salford, The Manchester Metropolitan University and The University of Bolton.
For more information on GM AHSN, please visit their website at
www.gmahsn.org.
