Campbell Grant, Sitekit CEO

Campbell Grant (@Sitekit)

Job Title/Organisation: CEO, Sitekit

What does your role involve?

I am the founder and CEO of Sitekit, a digital health company that helps people live longer, healthier and happier lives, assisted by joined-up digital services. We are working in partnership with our 80-plus NHS customers in projects that place the citizen at the centre of managing their health, wellbeing and lifestyle.

In close collaboration with clinicians, Sitekit has developed the ‘eRedbook', a digital version of the Red Book (Personal Child Health Record) given to every child in the UK. We have also developed a self-care platform that joins up digital health services. It enables clinicians in NHS Liverpool to prescribe apps and digital step-down care services with secure, consented information sharing between statutory systems, personal devices and the patient’s informal circle of care.

What do you consider to be the most imminent challenge in your line of work?

The challenge that we share with most SMEs in digital health is the difficulty of developing business models that support innovation in a sector that is traditionally rather conservative, being - for very understandable reasons of patient safety and data privacy - risk-averse and historically slow to adopt new technology.

What has been the most rewarding piece of work you've undertaken?

We have had the honour of being a technical partner in all four £23m Innovate UK funded DALLAS projects, which are shaping the future of health and care delivery through using new ideas and technology to improve the way people live.

This has been a fantastic experience in which the lives of thousands of people UK-wide have been positively affected. The DALLAS programme is coming to an end this year, but the products that are part of DALLAS are in continuing development in collaboration with the users. For instance, Living it Up, the Scottish wellbeing portal, has recently added the option for people to sign up and register using their myaccount (Scottish citizens’ account) login details.

How can Scotland bridge the digital skills gap?

There are several government-led initiatives in place that could help close the digital skills gap. But I think industry can help itself more - as digital is the new rock and roll - and talented people can achieve global success at a relatively young age.

As Sitekit, we play an active part in local communities to show how digital technology can improve health and care and attract young people to consider a career in digital health. For instance, we are hosting special courses on software development and digital media to pupils at our local high school.

Which new technology excites you the most?

It’s not exactly a new technology but it’s great to see how personal health records are finally being included in health strategies at a national level.

What's your favourite app and why?

Like most professionals, the mobile app I use most frequently for work is email and increasingly Twitter. But if you ask what ask what is my favourite, then it would have to be my podcast app. As I drive 30,000 miles a year and cycle a lot to work, in areas without radio coverage, podcasts are a life saver.

What, for you, will 2016 be the year of from a technology/digital standpoint?

In 2016 we will see a much more focused effort to enable citizens to access public services digitally. With the basics in place (ie infrastructure, identity) we can accelerate the development of a wide array of person-centred health and care services.