On Wednesday 25 September 2019, healthcare professionals and innovators from across West Yorkshire and beyond gathered at the University of Bradford Norcroft Conference Centre for the inaugural West Yorkshire and Harrogate Paediatric Ambulatory Care Network (WYHACN) meeting, dedicated to promoting paediatric health and home-based care.

Led by Dr Mat Mathai and his team at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the foundation of the conference built on their experience of establishing the Trust’s Children’s Ambulatory Care (ACE) services.

NIHR CYPMedTech attended the meeting to raise awareness of the innovative projects supported by the TITCH Network.

The day featured several talks from experts on topics, including:

• How the development of UK networks for paediatric Diabetes have improved quality of care to patients nationally
• The need for further development of paediatric antibiotic stewardship
• How extending the expertise of secondary care givers into the community can help to educate patients and so reduce hospital admissions

A range of workshops were held throughout the day, showcasing the advantages of networking within the healthcare community, how artificial intelligence is being employed to optimise patient pathways and referrals, with Dr Reena Basu, of the ACE team, also demonstrating the use of a telehealth system (TytoHealth), which is being piloting for use as remote consultation system for children at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Throughout the activities, talks and discussions of the day, Tim Casswell and Jennifer La Trobe of Creative Connections, also created a stunning narrative visualisation of the topics covered, including the attendees’ fears and dreams for the future of healthcare within the UK, to mark the beginning of the journey into Ambulatory care development in West Yorkshire and Harrogate.

@WYHpartnership #PACN