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The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) comprises a team of multi-cultural and multi-lingual individuals, with extensive skills, experience, and a shared commitment to transform great ideas into real digital health and social care solutions. ​ Our core team is supported by a Senior Management Team (SMT), Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and Board of Directors. Home / Our team The Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) comprises a team of multi-cultural and multi-lingual individuals, with extensive skills, experience, and a shared commitment to transform great ideas into real digital health and social care solutions. Our core team is supported by a Senior Management Team (SMT), Senior Leadership Team (SLT), and Board of Directors. Filter by sub-team DHI Board SLT SMT Team Dr Petra Wilson Board Chair Professor George Crooks OBE Chief Executive Officer Moira Mackenzie Deputy Chief Executive Officer/Director of Innovation Janette Hughes Director of Planning & Performance Chaloner Chute Chief Technology Officer Dr Abigail Lyons Senior Business Innovation Manager Alan Connor Programme Lead Alex Porteous Project Co-ordinator Angela Bruce Research Fellow Angus McCann Board Member (Industry) Anna Sturzaker Innovation Design Associate Anna Whyte Project Support Officer Brian O’Connor Board Member (Industry) Cate Green Production Manager Catherine Cooper Senior Finance Assistant Charles Sweeney Board Member (Industry) Charline Roussel Research Associate Charlotte Stoney Research Associate Chris Charalambous Senior Design & Marketing Co-Ordinator Chris Malarkey Finance Officer Dave Moreton Consultant Support Don McIntyre Design Director Flora MacLeod Board Member (IBM) Gabriele Rossi Design Technologist Gemma Teal Research Fellow Professor Gordon Hush Board Member (Glasgow School of Art) Grant Reilly CMktr FCIM Head of Communications & Marketing Dr Jay Bradley Research Fellow Jennifer Thomas Skills and Project Manager Joanne Boyle Head of Engagement John Murray Programme Manager Jonathan Cameron Board Member (Scottish Government) Kara Mackenzie Project Co-ordinator Karen Mcloughlin Project Support Officer Karim Mahmoud Commercial Innovation Lead Kiera Milne Graduate Innovation Intern Lisa Welsh Programme Manager Professor Margaret Whoriskey MBE Head of Innovation for Care & Well Being Marie Simpson Programme Manager Marissa Cummings Research Fellow Mateus Freitas Digital Content Creator Michelle Brogan Digital Health and Care Innovation lead Michelle MacDonald Project Support Officer Olivia Dunbar Events, Marketing & PR Assistant Dr Peter Fuzesi Research & Knowledge Management Officer Robert Fender Legal & Commercial Manager Dr Sanna Rimpiläinen Head of Research & Skills Shirley Sharp Office Manager & Personal Assistant to the CEO Sneha Raman Research Fellow Stephanie Crowe Research Fellow DHI Board Meeting Minutes 15/05/2025 DHI board meeting minutes 12/02/2025 DHI board meeting minutes 21/11/2024 DHI board meeting minutes 22/08/2024 DHI board meeting minutes 23/05/2024 DHI board meeting minutes 29/02/2024 DHI board meeting minutes 23/11/2023 DHI board meeting minutes 24/08/2023 DHI board meeting minutes 25/05/2023 DHI board meeting minutes 16/02/2023 DHI board meeting minutes DHI Board Terms of Reference DHI Board Terms of Reference (2018) DHI Board Members Code of Practice (2018)

DHI collaborates with partners to co-design digital health and social care solutions to key Scottish health challenges. Home / Our projects Filter by Business support Data Standardisation Detection and Treatment Knowledge Exchange Post Event Care Prevention Sort by 5G Feasibility Study Censis, the Scotland 5G Centre, and DHI conducted a feasibility study in Moray to explore 5G opportunities for Health and Care services. The study identified key success factors for a community health network and highlighted the potential for service enhancement through 5G technology. Explore AICE Europe This 4-year, €6 million Horizon Europe programme includes NHS Highland, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of Strathclyde. It aims to replace up to 75% of optical colonoscopies with Camera Capsule Endoscopy (CCE), enhancing patient experience and hospital efficiency by using AI to streamline diagnostics and reduce errors. Explore AIM4ALL The AIM4ALL Proof of Concept aimed to enhance data collection for evaluating new healthcare products in Scotland, using CAR T-cell therapy as an example. The project was a partnership between DHI, Precision Medicine, and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and was funded by Scottish Enterprise and Cell & Gene Catalyst UK. Explore Atrial Fibrillation The Atrial Fibrillation (AF) project, a collaboration between DHI, NHS Lanarkshire, the University of Strathclyde, Napier University, and Bardy, aimed to detect paroxysmal AF using continuous monitoring devices. It focused on reducing stroke recurrence and supporting new stroke standards through co-design and evaluating digital device implementation. Explore Backpack - Person-owned Data Store The Personal Data Store (PDS), or "Backpack," aimed to enhance service access and enable integrated, person-centred care. In partnership with Mydex CIC, NHS Grampian, and Moray Social Health and Care Partnership, DHI worked with MS patients and professionals to improve personal information management for better service experiences. Explore COVID-19 Clinical Assessment Tool (CAT) This project repurposed the DHI-funded Trauma App to assess COVID-19 symptoms, deployed by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. It facilitated 20,000 assessments by July 2021. Version 3 was completed, and a Stage 4 proposal was prepared before the project closed in October 2021. Explore COVID-19 Community Co-management (Co3) This project expanded the National Notification Service (NSS) by adding a self-service contact tracing form, crucial to the COVID-19 response. It facilitated rapid data collection and improved accessibility for positive cases. Explore Care 'In Place' (CIP) Care Home Assessment Tool (CHAT) Stages 1 & 2 This project aimed to rapidly develop and test the Care Homes Assessment Tool (CHAT) in at least two Health Boards/HSCP areas. CHAT supports staff in assessing, triaging, and accessing specialist clinical input for resident treatment. Explore Covid-19 related projects Using the 3 Cs to create digital solutions to the Covid-19 challenge Explore Diabetes Portfolio DHI uniquely drives Diabetes Innovation in Scotland by collaborating with NHS, industry, academia, and individuals with lived experiences to advance innovation and funding opportunities. Explore DigiBete Scale up project This project aims to enhance Diabetes self-management and education for Children, Young People, and Families (CYPF) by expanding DigiBete, a patient-led digital platform supporting over 40,000 UK users. After a successful pilot in 2022-2023, additional funding will allow further scaling across NHS Scotland until July 2026. Explore Digital Lifelines Scotland Digital Lifelines Scotland improves digital inclusion and designs digital solutions to reduce harm and deaths among people who use drugs. Managed by DHI and funded by the Scottish Government, the programme provides access to devices, connectivity, skills, and confidence, strengthening services and sector collaboration. Explore First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last

DHI undertakes research, facilitates international knowledge exchange, and publishes academic outputs, grey literature, white papers and a variety of other digital resources focused on digital health and social care. Home / Resources DHI undertakes research, facilitates international knowledge exchange, and publishes academic outputs, grey literature, white papers and a variety of other digital resources focused on digital health and social care. Article Blog post Executive summary Factsheet Paper Poster Presentation Report Show / exhibition Video Search by author Transforming Diabetes Care through Innovation: Leveraging Scotland’s Collaborative Ecosystem Thought Leadership Event Summary Report Executive summary 2025 Start Now Digital Innovation in Social Care - Industry Engagement Workshop Report 2025 Start Now Summary of Key Challenges & Opportunities for Digital Mental Health Research & Innovation in Scotland Executive summary 2025 Start Now Digital Mental Health Innovation Cluster (DMHIC) : Annual Report 2024–2025 Report 2025 Start Now Adult ADHD Scottish Pathway Research : A review of the current landscape of approaches to Adult ADHD care across health boards in Scotland Report 2025 Start Now Digital Lifelines Scotland – Evaluation Logic Model Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of the Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) Programme – FINAL REPORT Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of the Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) Programme – SUPPORTING EVIDENCE REPORT Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of the Digital Lifelines Scotland (DLS) Programme – EVALUATION SUMMARY Report 2025 Start Now Evaluation of a Digital Solution for the Assessment and Management of Pain in Scottish Care Services Report 2025 Start Now Digital Innovation in Social Care : Priorities and Opportunities for Scotland Report 2025 Start Now Digital Imagination’ series: Imagining a future virtual clinic experience Paper 2025 Start Now Developing a Digitally-Enabled Universal Service Model to Reduce Type 2 Diabetes-Related Risk Report 2025 Start Now Care in Place – User Experience Evaluation Report Report 2024 Start Now DHI Industry Engagement Plan 2024 – 2027 Report 2024 Start Now Evaluating Digital Interventions for ADHD Diagnosis and Management in Adults within the UK Report 2024 Start Now First Prev 1 Page 1 Next Last

The DLS team and partners joined Angus Alcohol and Drug Partnership (ADP) in hosting a vibrant Shared Learning Event in January.   Despite amber weather warnings for wind on the day over 30 people managed to get to a fabulous community venue in Arbroath. Attendees were welcomed by Angus ADP’s acting chair, their enthusiasm for DLS was very clear and evidenced the support of senior leadership which has been so beneficial to the work in Angus. To kick-off the morning the group split and visited two wonderful local services. The Havilah project which has become a key partner to DLS delivery. Similar Well-Bean recovery cafes are working with the ADP and Vibrant Communities to introduce DLS across Angus, maximising local assets, meeting people where they are, and increasing access to digital.   The second group visited The Beacon, a new Community Wellbeing Centre offering community support for anyone living in Angus aged 16 and over. Commissioned by Angus HSCP this former church has been very sympathetically remodelled to offer high quality spaces to meet with, listen to and support people. The DLS group were particularly pleased to hear how the space will be host to statutory and community services making an integrated journey for users easier. DLS is looking forward to how digital can support The Beacon.  DLS partner SCVO brought everyone back into the main room and matched people in pairs so we could share our thoughts on our respective visits, a nifty ice-breaker!  The room then heard the stories and experiences of DLS from Angus Homeless Prevention Service, Vibrant Communities and the Angus ADP. Instructive and inspiring. After lunch the sessions focussed on a strong theme running through the work in Angus: families. Angus Independent Agency told of their journey so far and we were privileged to hear first-hand about the genesis of Angus For Families By Families.  Lastly and very definitely not least we were treated to a whistle stop and bravado performance on Kindness and Compassion from Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and all left with a thought-provoking word-pebble! We ended with a preview of Angus ADP’s new website and were given information on the Angus Kindness Pledge and how this will underpin their adherence to the Charter of Rights.  Evidence across the whole day of the value of these Shared Learning and Community of Learning events in DLS and the commitment to them from the whole team and all partners. A great day due to the organisers’ effort and passion. Kudos to the team from East Ayrshire who joined in-person too. Others were unable to attend as planned due to an un-expected significantly increased demand on their services. A timely reminder for us all of the day-to-day reality of the support provided by our inspiring partners.  Digital Lifelines Scotland is managed by the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) in conjunction with core partners SCVO and Simon Community Scotland and the support of NHS National Services Scotland. The third phase of DLS is funded by Drug and Alcohol Policy Division in the Scottish Government with previous phases receiving funding from Drugs and Alcohol Policy, Digital Health and Care Divisions and the Drug Deaths Taskforce in the Scottish Government.  Learn more about Digital Lifelines Scotland Author: Alan Connor

OpenAI’s new private health experience brings personal records and wearable data into conversational AI. It could change self‑management and administrative workflows — if we insist on the right safeguards. OpenAI’s announcement of ChatGPT Health marks a significant inflection point: conversational AI that can ingest medical records and consumer health data to inform personalised health conversations. The feature promises isolated memory, stronger encryption, and integrations with platforms such as Apple Health, popular fitness apps, and record‑aggregators. For clinicians, health‑tech leaders and patients, the question is not whether this will matter — it already does — but how we shape it so the benefits scale without amplifying harm. Do you recognise the style of what has been written so far? I used Co-Pilot (another conversational AI) and this is what it would have me say. It posited that this new capability is good but needs better safeguards. This takes as a given that ‘for-profit’ consumer-oriented enterprise should provide this kind of utility, and that we just need to regulate it well. Co-Pilot took the sum of largely American online content and synthesized a position that is the sum of cultures, ideologies and health and care models quite different to ours. Here is what I would have written, if left to my own devices. OpenAI’s new private health experience brings personal records and wearable data into conversational AI. There are lessons for personalised health and care here – the technology is getting there, but we need to rethink the social model for it to thrive in a consensual, transparent and safe manner. I have the privilege of fifteen years of experience in digital health and care service development and delivery and so alarm bells ring when I saw Copilot’s output. I could take a step back, think critically and form my own, qualified opinion. If you asked me to do the same for a cancer risk deliberation, I would have to just go with the AI offer, which has been trained to be extremely plausible to me as a lay person. The upside of the new capability is straightforward and tangible. A digital assistant powered by this kind of AI capability can see medication lists, recent lab results and wearable trends and move beyond generic guidance to actionable, contextual suggestions. It could then help me transact or administrate actions and handle the complexity of the processes I should go through. This could be great for prevention, engagement and inclusion, helping all people to self-manage more effectively and prepare them better when they need to work with health and care professionals. But the risks are real and complex. Privacy is not a single technical toggle. Strong encryption and isolated memory are necessary but not sufficient. Consent (and revocation), data provenance and storage, and third‑party integrations all determine whether a user truly controls their data. Users often underestimate the implications of sharing or importing records.  Providing simple user experience often requires tradeoffs, including some obfuscation of exactly what is happening with the data involved. As a marketplace evolves around these new digital assistants, it would become easy for data to leak as the user takes the easy path to connect services up and streamline their lives. Clinical safety is another hard boundary. Models can misinterpret notes, hallucinate details, or miss clinical nuance. Regulatory and liability questions remain unsettled. Who bears responsibility when an AI‑driven suggestion contributes to a poor outcome — the platform, the data integrator, the clinician, or the health system that adopted the tool? So what should responsible organisations do now? Well, this is what CoPilot thinks: First, treat these assistants as clinical‑adjunct tools, not replacements. Design workflows that keep clinicians in the loop for diagnostic or treatment decisions and use AI to automate low‑risk, high‑value tasks. Second, insist on transparent, granular consent and easy revocation. Users must know exactly what data is used, for what purpose, and how to withdraw access. Third, require provenance and explainability: every recommendation should link back to the data and logic that produced it, enabling clinicians to validate and correct outputs. It's hard to disagree with any of these suggestions. They do of course work on the premise that we have to adopt or accommodate consumer-oriented AI tools. If it were me, I would be asking different questions: Can we learn from some of the principles at play? The core concept of using the ‘activities of daily living’ data to generate automated, personalised recommendations is sound. A dialogue-based interaction could be extremely useful for people with lower digital literacy or access. There is no reason a digital assistant couldn’t communicate via SMS texts, for example. Synthesising lots of complex information from exchanges with health and care professionals to allow people to understand and take more ownership of their care is a fundamental good. Where do we start? People race to diagnostics with these sorts of capabilities, but there are some areas of health and care service delivery that may be better starting points for early exploration. I would look for lower risk, less acute, less medical use cases. The health and care system is hindered by significant inertia created by much more simple, logistical, data sharing and data volume issues. For example, understanding what ‘normal’ looks like for a person is a perennial problem for social workers, care assistants, paramedics, occupational therapists, hospital staff, among many others. Understanding how active, social and engaged someone is over many years could be important baseline information to help a professional handle risk and tailor care more effectively. This could be achieved using the new digital capabilities, but we would need a more consensual, transparent and safe approach to the collection of personal data and insight generation if we want people, organisations and society to trust it. So, think about where the data will be stored in this model. At a bare minimum we need all the data to be UK based to adhere to regulatory requirements. We should go beyond this, considering that this is now the aggregation of a citizen’s day-to-day living data and we start to move beyond the argument that this is a medical record. This means we cannot persist with the cultural and regulatory assumption that implied consent is enough for the data to be stored, shared and used. Ideally any initial development in this area would work based on explicit consent, and full revocation capability and this would be built into the software in question or be provided by a suitable person-held record capability. What next? DHI is active in kind of work I describe above. Stay tuned across our channels to consider these kinds of privacy-preserving and socially focused models as they are evidenced by our portfolio of integrated care innovation projects. Author - Chaloner Chute Chief Technology Officer

DHI design team host first in a series of workshops to inform PEACEPLUS funded SUMIT digital products.  In January DHI visited The Red Door in Drogheda and TURAS in Dundalk to continue the SUMIT participatory design process, delivering workshops with staff and service users. This is the first time the SUMIT Demonstrator Sites have had the chance to contribute directly to the project in their teams, with peers and in-person.  One of DHI’s roles in SUMIT is to ensure people are at the centre of the innovation process and that lived and living experience drives change. DHI researchers are applying design innovation methods to co-design and develop three new digital interventions with four local demonstrator sites. The digital products are aimed to improve access, inclusion, and long-term outcomes for individuals with substance use and mental health challenges. The output of the workshops will inform the procurement process due to start next month.  For the team and the partners, it was important that a safe, trauma-informed space was established to ensure that everyone felt comfortable sharing their stories. The workshops involved:  Using Personas to map out a typical journey that a service user goes through when accessing a service to the point of entry to exiting   Looking at how this process feels for different service users/ staff and where/ how data is captured   Identifying what is working well and ‘pain points’ within the process  Exploring how different types of digital tools could alleviate the challenges identified and how they could fit into their services   Talking with service users about their experiences and what digital tools could help them    The workshops produced some interesting discussions and insights. Comments from the participants showed that they valued how the workshop supported them making decisions as a team.  The team are looking forward to the participation of the remaining demonstrator sites and subsequently sharing our findings.  The SUMIT (Substance Use and Mental Health Interventions using Digital Technology) project is a cross-border initiative funded by the PEACEPLUS programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Led by Queen’s University Belfast Communities and Place (QCAP), in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, DHI, the University of St Andrews, and the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), SUMIT aims to improve access to care for people with substance use and mental health challenges.  Authors: Anna Sturzaker and Marissa Cummings