Gro Health W8Buddy tool wins HSJ Digital Award

DDM Health’s flagship specialist weight management service has been awarded a top health award.

The Gro Health W8Buddy platform has won the Empowering Patients through Digital prize at the HSJ Digital Awards 2024.

The platform is the first digital support tool developed specifically for NHS Tier 3 Weight Management Services.

It provides users with a personalised weight management plan supporting an individual and their family or carers to develop attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and skills to self-manage their health.

The W8Buddy digital support tool can be accessed via phone or desktop and was recently endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

Winners from a total of 23 categories, were announced during the ceremony held at Manchester Central on Thursday, June 6, which was hosted by comedian and writer, Hal Cruttenden. During the ceremony, the achievements of 191 shortlisted finalists were celebrated.

Arjun Panesar, AI expert and Chief Operations Officer at DDM Health, said: “We are just so proud to have been selected as the winners of the Empowering Patients through Digital Award, which truly acknowledges the inspired efforts and ideas of our team who worked so hard to ensure we could successfully deliver the Gro Health W8Buddy tool.

“To be recognised in this way, in only the second ever HSJ Digital Awards, really is a great honour felt by all those involved.”

He added: “There’s no doubt that this will encourage us and our colleagues to continue developing, devising, delivering and sharing our knowledge and experience of digital services and innovation.”

The HSJ’s Digital awards are clearly growing in popularity and relevance with technology seen as a critical driver of transformation and innovation in the NHS.

As such, the HSJ Digital Awards are fast becoming an opportunity to recognise and applaud the power of digital products, projects and services to transform care delivery, enhance efficiency, and improve patient outcomes.

This highly competitive judging process strives to ensure that the most effective digital innovations can be “celebrated, scaled and spread”, and provide both a short and long-term springboard for adoption and roll out of successful initiatives.

The expert assessment panel comprised a diverse range of highly regarded figures across the NHS and the wider healthcare sector stemming from clinical, leadership and digital roles.

Alastair McLellan, HSJ editor, said: “Following such a successful launch last year, it really is great to be back, recognising and celebrating the achievements of so many digital innovators within our health and social care sector.

“It’s amazing to see that the level of interest and engagement in these relatively new awards is continuing to grow – which demonstrates the commitment and enthusiasm from so many experts and leaders working in this field.”

He added: “Digital services and tech innovation remains firmly at the heart of the ongoing evolution of the NHS, and I hope that this specific awards programme will help to focus the minds of decision makers and the wider workforce on the real value of digital within organisations, potentially aiding future investment.

“Once again, the quality of entries in the 2024 HSJ Digital Awards was outstanding, presenting our panel of judges with some tough choices and deliberation.”

He concluded: “Well done DDM Health for the part you’re playing in helping to ‘switch up’ the conversation around the current digital agenda and for taking the opportunity to benchmark your own successes against the country’s leading NHS and digital health sector organisations and projects.

“In my opinion, an HSJ Digital Award is an independent stamp of approval for your projects from a brand that makes your Chief Executive take notice and as ever, I look forward to seeing what else our winners go on to achieve.”

The winners were selected following a rigorous two-stage judging process by a group of 93 judges ahead of the HSJ Digital 2024 awards ceremony.