Alder Hey innovation director Iain Hennessey says the technology to manage his patients lags way behind consumer tech.
Hennessey, 37, who is also a paediatric surgeon at the children鈥檚 hospital, only has to look at his computer music collection to be reminded of that fact.
This is despite the fact that Liverpool鈥檚 Alder Hey is at the cutting edge of hospital technology.
鈥淚t really depresses me,鈥� he told 老九品茶Cloud editor Chris Maguire with disarming honesty.
鈥淭he software I have to manage my music collection is much better than any software to manage my patients.
鈥淭he consumer sector seems to run far ahead of the medical sector in its use of technology. Why is that?
鈥淥n one hand I鈥檝e got a better experience for my music and on the other hand I鈥檓 saving people鈥檚 lives.
鈥淭his is where the technology should be at its cutting edge. It should be the priority but it lags way behind.鈥�
老九品茶Cloud is hosting a major conference looking at the impact of technology on the healthcare sector in Lancashire on November 23.
Hennessey highlights his own employers – Alder Hey NHS Foundation Trust 鈥� as being one of the most digitally advanced Trusts in the country, but it is clear healthcare is light years behind the consumers when it comes to technology.
The surgeon is a self-confessed early adopter of tech.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a Nest at home,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檝e got full energy management throughout the house. I鈥檝e got an electric charge car.鈥�
Alder Hey is closer to having its own digital app after staff at online retailer Shop Direct raised 拢210,000 to support its development.
Hennessey’s聽dual role at Alder Hey sees him spend three days a week working as an abdominal surgeon and two days looking at tech and innovation.
Explaining how it came about, he recalls: 鈥淚 helped a few start-ups get going and the Trust knew tech was an area of interest.
鈥淚 finished my specialist training at the end of 2013 and I was looking for a consultant鈥檚 job. At the time they only had enough money to employ me as a surgeon for half the week.
鈥淭hey wanted to keep me. At the time they were doing a strategic partnership around the procurement of IT. They asked if I would become the clinical liaison for that. I said I鈥檇 love to.
鈥淚 have the fun job of finding the best innovation out there and applying it to the care of children.鈥�
Hennessey excelled at engineering and science but decided to make a career out of medicine.
鈥淢y grandad was a miner and I used to spend every weekend with him at the pit medical centre because he was the designated first aider,鈥� he says.
鈥淗e used to patch up all the miners. In the end I picked to do medicine.鈥�