Our life span is increasing but what can we do about our health span? Charlotte James, Director of Communications, Marketing and Engagement, shares an update on our work to support our communities to live and age well he majority of children born in the UK today can expect to live to more than 100. This increase in life expectancy has been happening for decades, but these extra years of life are not always spent in good health, with many people developing conditions that reduce their independence and quality of life. This discrepancy between our life span and health span has major implications for public health, the economy and our national health service. Living and ageing well is therefore a key priority for us in helping to deliver the NHS Long Term Plan. We believe we have a key role to play in helping older people receive the right kind of support to help them live as well as possible while not overwhelming health and social care services. We believe we have a key role to play in helping older people receive the right kind of support to help them live as well as possible Living well NORWICH INSTITUTE OF HEALTHY AGEING (NIHA) Crucially, the challenges of an ageing population require that we maintain healthy behaviours throughout life. These dynamics and long-term demographic trends point to a growing role the industry in educating people in self-care for both their mental and physical health. We are therefore proud to be a partner of the Norwich Institute of Healthy Ageing (NIHA) - a new research group, launched in November, that brings together researchers, policy-makers, commercial partners and the local community to about the investigate the social, cultural, economic, geographical and Norwich Institute of environmental determinants of behaviours that impact public health. Healthy Ageing (NIHA), click here The new institute believes, as we do, in adding life to years and researchers will collaborate on reducing the risk of a range of health issues from dementia and diabetes to heart disease. They will explore how behaviour changes such as improved nutrition, regular exercise, socialisation and sleep hygiene can lead to better physical and mental health. Living independently We are committed to make better use of technology, such as wearable devices and monitors, to support Charco Neurotech is one company we have been working with this year to develop a wearable device, called Cue improving their movement and quality of life. This non-invasive wearable uses pulsed cueing and focused Charco Neurotech this year to develop its health economic budget impact model, in addition to giving advice on procurement and clinical positioning. Active+Me, a cardiac rehabilitation pilot being run at Addenbrookes Hospital, to quickly adapt to online classes to ensure patients were able to keep up their exercise and manage their recovery, thanks to funding from Innovate UK. Active+Me is a solution, developed by Aseptika, that empowers patients to take charge of their own recovery through safe exercise and education on risk factors and lifestyle changes. In addition, patients are provided with medical monitors to record their I am really grateful I took part in the pilot; I feel much more selfaware, confident and in control of what I do now progress, such as on activity levels, blood pressure, weight and oxygen saturation. The data are uploaded to an app and shared securely with the hospitals cardiac rehabilitation team. One patient using the Active+Me platform is Cambridgeshire-based Steve King. Steve enrolled onto the pilot after a triple After my surgery I started my cardiac rehabilitation, Active+Me pilot, which piqued my interest because of my research background. I also found out that I was borderline type 2 diabetic, which was further motivation to make a change to my lifestyle. Now, I measure my weight, blood pressure and blood-oxygen levels all of which I didnt pay any attention to before as part of my daily routine. But what interests me most is the trends in my data over time, which I can monitor control of what I do now. Buddi Connect is one of the innovations we supported following a grant from NHSX as part of While we were not able to conduct our planned care homes pilot of Washseat during the pandemic, we over the top of an existing toilet to provide a raised seat and built-in washing facility to enable the user to manage their personal hygiene with dignity. We continue to provide them with mentoring as we look to Care at home The NHS Long Term Plan outlines the objective to give people greater control over the care they receive and for more care support at home rather than in hospital. This objective was further prioritised with the added pressure of a global pandemic and restrictions to movement. The rapid digitalisation of life during COVID-19s acute phase had a huge impact on healthcare delivery, including a major shift to telemedicine across the NHS. While there is more work to do to ensure we dont exclude people who are not digitally literate, this transformation was vital in enabling continuation of care during the crisis. We supported clinical teams in our region to transition from face-to-face services to online consultations, alongside the virtual monitoring of vital signs to keep patients away from overstretched and potentially infectious hospitals and GP surgeries. Read more about our work enabling telemedicine in the region. Roser, M., Ortiz-Ospina, E. and Ritchie, H.. (2019). Life Expectancy. Available: https:// ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy. Last accessed 28/04/21. 1 Reference Share this article Living with long-term conditions In the UK, one in four adults is now estimated to have two or more health conditions. We are working Liberate Pro and CareDoctR, to empower here. Get in touch If you would like to partner with us or have an idea to support healthy ageing, get in touch.