Vodafone Business took the wraps off a new dedicated healthcare division in the UK, designed to accelerate the use of technology in the segment, free-up workforce time, and drive efficiency and productivity.

The Vodafone in Health unit will be headed up by “industry expert” Anne-Marie-Vine-Lott (pictured), who will represent the company in advising the health sector and working in tandem with public and private institutions to develop technology products.

Vodafone explained it will further combine secure, modern and reliable connectivity healthcare expertise with partners to enable delivery of better patient outcomes.

The operator’s business division has an existing partnership with the NHS and other healthcare providers, and the intent of the unit is to “create the building blocks for change and support the acceleration of digital transformation”, it stated.

Vodafone has previously outlined the opportunity to use 5G in the healthcare industry, touting the sector as a use case for standalone network slicing.

Vine-Lott said the division will act as a technology adviser and innovation hub for partners and customers.

“Our focus is on supporting health providers work beyond organisational boundaries to, through better connectivity and the modernisation of technology, help them drive better outcomes for patients,” she added.