NHS England has initiated a search for the world’s best innovators to apply for their upcoming schemes aiming to give NHS patients better care with new technology.
To ensure the NHS is fully up to speed with new technology and innovations, they have made an open call for applicants to become part of their two related programmes
With thanks to the Innovation and Technology Payment, the NHS is able to fund a carefully selected group of innovations and spread them across the whole of the NHS.
The previous programme was a success in which almost 100,000 patients benefitted. To date, the current programme has already helped 7,000 patients. One celebrated innovation from the current crop is termed HeartFlow. This is a software capable of producing a 3D description of a patients’ coronary arteries. This can then be used to analyse how blockages are impacting blood flow, which will speed up the diagnosis of artery disease.
Each innovator is provided with exceptional support and mentoring to aid them in spreading their technology throughout the NHS. The NHS Innovator Accelerator is responsible for helping those innovators and since it begun in 2015 there have been 36 innovators fully supported in ensuring their 37 innovations are a success.
One of the men behind the projects, Dr. Sam Roberts, has stressed his excitement at the prospect of even more patients benefitting from new technologies because of the NHS’s commitment to supporting innovators.
The NHS removes the barriers of innovation success via their ITP. For an innovator to be applicable, they require their inventions to be operational within a minimum of three NHS establishments. Furthermore, they require to show that their innovation can give an investment return within the first year.
The second scheme, NIA, offers certain innovators with bespoke support. These innovators will have the opportunity to roll out their technology at considerable pace across the whole of the NHS. For an innovator to be considered for the NIA, their innovation must address a key priority. These priorities are: prevention and/or early diagnosis of cardiovascular disease or cancer, primary care and mental health.
A lead of these programmes, Prof. Tony Young, has shown great excitement at the prospect of even more innovators changing the landscape of the NHS and its patients for the better with remarkable technologies. Lord O’Shaughnessy, the Health Minister, has also praised the NHS for taking down barriers for innovators so their technologies can enhance the care given by the NHS
The previous round of NIA has supported:
• WaitLess – by making use of real time information such as travel information and waiting times, this application lets patients suffering from minor injuries know where they can access treatment as quickly as possible.
• Dip.io – This is a tool that allows patients to conduct an accurate urine test from home. The test is effective in identifying UTIs, kidney disease and pre-eclampsia. The results are sent to a doctor via an app who will then complete a diagnosis.
ITP and NIA applications will remain open until midday on the 3rd of October and midnight on the 24th October, respectively. Both applications are to be made via the NHS Innovation and Accelerator website.
