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techUK welcomes further investment in Digital Health.

The new Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has announced almost half a billion pounds investment in health technology.

At a speech in his Suffolk constituency, Mr Hancock, the former digital and culture secretary, pledged £487m for technology in the NHS.

Mr Hancock also tweeted that technology would be one his ‘early priorities’ in the job.

The bulk of the money is part of the Paperless 2020 fund agreed in 2016. The money is allocated in tranches, subject to Treasury approval.

techUK has welcomed the announcement. Head of Health and Social Care Ben Moody commented:

“We have worked closely with Matt Hancock in his time as Secretary of State at DCMS, so it is great to have someone in post who truly understands the transformative nature of digital health, and the investment required to make it happen. We talk a lot about the potential of Apps and Wearables, Artificial Intelligence and Genomics but until we get basic digitisation right none of these technologies can get near to its potential”.

The announcement comes just a week after a report by the Royal College of Surgeons highlighted the desperate need for digitisation in some parts of the NHS, with research showing almost 10,000 fax machines in use in the NHS.

Read the full speech here: Matt Hancock: my priorities for the health and social care system

Click here for full press release