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Health Innovation Network receives Innovate UK grant to run “Accelerating FemTech”

Published by Jessica Kwan

The Health Innovation Network is happy to announce “Accelerating FemTech”, a new initiative which will support innovators to boost the development of technology solutions to address current challenges in women’s health. Accelerating FemTech has been made possible through Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst.

Accelerating FemTech is looking to inspire, by engaging innovators (clinicians, companies and academics) around the challenges in women’s health, and to accelerate, by delivering a targeted 10-week accelerator programme for small / medium-sized companies from across the UK.

The programme is being delivered by the Health Innovation Network and partners, including: DigitalHealth.London, CW Innovation, the Academic Health Science Network for North East and North Cumbria, Kent Surrey Sussex AHSN, South West AHSN, West of England AHSN, Mills & Reeve, East Midlands AHSN, Yorkshire and Humber AHSN, Health Innovation Manchester, and others.

Anna King, Commercial Director for the Health Innovation Network, said: “There are enormous opportunities to bring new innovation to women’s health – from female-specific areas such as maternal health, fertility, gynecological cancers and menopause, to conditions that affect women disproportionally or differently, including osteoporosis or cardiovascular disease. Accelerating FemTech aims to inspire innovators to tackle the challenges in these areas and equip companies working in women’s health to develop their product offering. I look forward to working with healthcare leaders from across the UK to advance innovation in this important space and am very grateful to Innovate UK for funding this vital work.”

Dr Samana Brannigan, Head of Health Technologies at Innovate UK, commented: “Our vision is to inspire early-stage businesses to develop cutting edge healthcare solutions to transform healthcare and drive business growth. In collaboration with the Medical Research Council we have developed a pilot accelerator programme to maximise impact of our excellent research base and transform innovative research into commercially viable businesses. We are delighted to be working with Health Innovation Network and their partners to deliver this programme and their support will undoubtedly improve the success of the early-stage innovators in addressing real-world challenges.”

INSPIRE includes specialist webinars, from a range of subject matter experts and innovators, to motivate and celebrate innovative solutions, and invite-only face-to-face events, to encourage and connect innovators to solve to women’s health challenges. These events are targeted at clinicians, academic and innovators interested in tackling women’s health challenges. Details of all of the events can be found here.

ACCELERATE is a 10-week support programme is for small / medium-sized companies (SMEs) from across the UK, that have early-stage innovations addressing current challenges in women’s health. Building on the Health Innovation Network’s experience of running the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, the programme will provide companies developing products to solve women’s health challenges with bespoke support through expert-led workshops and mentoring. It will support them to develop their product offering, understand the challenges in the women’s health space, grow entrepreneurship skills and engage with key stakeholders across the NHS and academic landscape. The programme will be delivered in a hybrid format, with two days of face-to-face workshops in London in September and Leeds in October, and a showcase in London in November, supplemented by online support, workshops and coaching. The programme will also support the companies to apply to the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst call in November 2023, to demonstrate their commercial and technical feasibility. Innovators interested in the programme can find out more and register their interest here.

ENDS

Notes to editors

  • Interviews and further information

For more information, including interviews, statements and images, please contact Megan Truman, Communications Manager for the Health Innovation Network on megan.truman@nhs.net.

  • Accelerating FemTech

Accelerating FemTech is a new initiative which will support innovators to boost the development of technology solutions to address current challenges in women’s health. Accelerating FemTech has been made possible through Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst. The programme is being delivered by the Health Innovation Network and partners, including: Academic Health Science Networks, CW+, Mills & Reeves and others. It builds upon the experience of running the award-winning DigitalHealth.London, Propel, and other innovator support programmes from the AHSNs.

  • Health Innovation Network

Health Innovation Network is the Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) for south London, one of 15 AHSNs across England. As the only bodies that connect NHS and academic organisations, local authorities, the third sector and industry, we are uniquely placed to increase the spread and adoption of innovation across large populations, at pace and scale. The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator is part of our enhanced offer to support economic growth as funded by the Office of Life Sciences. For more information, please visit healthinnovationnetwork.com.

  • The Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN)

The AHSN Network, comprising the 15 academic health science networks (AHSNs) across England, exists to transform the way the NHS identifies, adopts, and spreads innovation. Our regional AHSNs work closely with businesses and individual innovators to help realise the potential of their ideas. The unique role of the AHSNs means we bridge the gap between the NHS and industry, bringing the very best innovative solutions to the NHS and helping to create economic growth by harnessing the NHS investment. Our commission from the Government’s Office for Life Sciences (OLS) enables us to do this in a structured and methodical way, answering the needs of the health and care system and of innovators with ideas that match system challenges. Programmes like the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator form part of the distinctive offer of the Health Innovation Network. For more information, please see ahsnnetwork.com.

  • Innovate UK

Innovate UK is creating a better future by inspiring, involving and investing in businesses developing life-changing innovations.

We provide targeted sectors with expertise, facilities and funding to test, demonstrate and evolve their ideas, driving UK productivity and economic growth. Join our network and communities of innovators to realise the potential of your ideas and accelerate business growth. For more information, please see: https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/

  • London

Since 2016, DigitalHealth.London has been focusing on accelerating the adoption of digital innovation by linking health and care organisations with digital health innovators for the benefit of patients and populations. It accelerates the adoption of digital innovations across health and care to improve patient and population outcomes and experience and supports a sustainable future NHS. DigitalHealth.London is delivered by Health Innovation Network with the support of partners globally.

In addition, CW+, the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital charity, is a partner in the delivery of DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, Launchpad and Evidence Generation Bootcamp programmes. For more information, please see digitalhealth.london

  • CW Innovation

CW Innovation is the flagship innovation programme run jointly by CW+ and Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. CW+ is the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Supporters and partners enable the charity to: invest in the CW Innovation programme to identify and implement high-impact innovation initiatives and new digital solutions that address some of the real-time challenges that healthcare organisations face today; build and enhance clinical facilities to create an outstanding healing environment for patients and staff; and deliver a unique art and design programme to transform the experience and wellbeing of our patients. For more information, please visit cwplus.org.uk.

  • Mills & Reeve

Mills & Reeve is centred on achieving more for clients, their businesses and the wider communities we serve.

Our clients and their industries benefit from our knowledge and learning – on everything from wellbeing, diversity and inclusion to global trends. The wider community benefits from a focus on sustainability in client and business decisions.

Clients get a consistent experience with no surprises – we tell them what they need to know, when they need to know it. Our sector and market expertise (including health and care, technology and life sciences) helps us understand clients’ issues. And our technology and innovations help them achieve more with less effort.

We build personal relationships, with advice individually tailored to individual need. And if clients need things we don’t offer, we draw on our network to give recommendations.

Our 1,000 plus people and over 500 lawyers share one vision – achieving more for clients

For further information please visit the website at www.mills-reeve.com

 

  • The Academic Health Science Network for North East and North Cumbria

The Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria supports the health and care system to accelerate innovation which improves people’s health and the regional economy.

We work closely with the NENC ICS and our Member Organisations, including the NHS Trusts and Universities, across the NENC to help them identify, evaluate, adopt and disseminate transformative innovation. We work a lot with industry too, as a source of innovation and also to help industry access the expertise within the NHS that is so crucial to the development, testing and deployment of products and services that are the basis of the UK’s Life Sciences sector.

  • Kent Surry Sussex (KSS) AHSN

Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) is one of the 15 AHSNs across England, established by NHS England in 2013 to improve health and generate economic growth by spreading innovation at pace and scale.

We connect citizens, NHS and academic organisations, local authorities, the third sector and industry to facilitate change across whole health and social care economies, with a clear focus on improving outcomes for patients. We are uniquely placed to identify and spread health innovation at pace and scale; driving the adoption and spread of innovative ideas and technologies across large populations. Visit www.kssahsn.net or follow us on Twitter @KSSAHSN.

  • Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network (Yorkshire & Humber AHSN)

Yorkshire & Humber AHSN is one of 15 AHSNs set up by NHS England to operate as the innovation arm of the NHS.

Across the country AHSNs act as a bridge between health care providers, commissioners, academia and industry. By connecting these sectors, we help to build a pipeline of solutions for the NHS from research and product development through to implementation and commercialisation.

Locally we work in partnership with our regional health and care community and develop projects, programmes and initiatives that reflect the diversity and meet the needs of our local populations’ health care challenges.

Web: www.yhahsn.org.uk

Twitter: @YHAHSN

LinkedIn: yorkshire-and-humber-academic-health-science-network

  • Propel@YH

Propel@YH is Yorkshire & Humber AHSN’s digital health accelerator programme. Now with a four-year track record behind it, Propel@YH helps organisations from across the UK and around the world to bring their innovative digital health solutions to the region's patients and the wider health economy. 

Recognising that the sales cycle within healthcare can be challenging and often lengthy, Propel@YH provides a structured programme of support and advice that enables HealthTech innovators to accelerate their growth and market presence. The accelerator provides a unique and tailored set of masterclasses, guidance and support services in conjunction with its partners at Barclays Eagle Labs, Nexus, Hill Dickinson, Leeds City Council and West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership.

In 2022 Propel@YH ran its first ‘Boot Camp’ for US innovator companies. This week-long crash course was designed to help them understand the NHS marketplace and provide them with the contacts and conditions they needed to establish their UK headquarters in the region. Three of the five companies have subsequently done just that and in 2023 further Boot Camps with Nordic, Canadian and Indian innovators are being organised. 

Web: www.propel-yh.com

Twitter: @PropelYH

LinkedIn: propel-yh 

  • West of England AHSN

The West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) brings all the key players innovating in health and care in our region together, in order to support healthcare innovation. We exist to improve the health of the local population in the West of England and increase the wealth within our regional economy.

We work closely with our three Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) – Healthier Together Partnership (Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire), BSW Together (Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire) and One Gloucestershire, as well as our member organisations which includes all the NHS providers and commissioners in the West of England and the universities of Bath, Bristol and the West of England. We also work in close partnership with research organisations, industry, the voluntary sector, patients, carers and the public.

  • South West Academic Health Science Network

The South West Academic Health Science Network is one of 15 AHSNs across England. We exist in partnership with our local health and care system, local authorities, universities, life science, and voluntary, community and social enterprises, to transform the way the NHS identifies, adopts and spreads promising innovations, to improve health equity and the health of people living across the South West region. We develop the innovation pipeline in the South West, matching the promising ideas of innovators to local challenges in health and care, and helping them to implement their solutions to improve the NHS and care system. Find out more on our website www.swahsn.com.

  • East Midlands Academic Health Science Network

The East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) is one of 15 Academic Health Science Networks in England. EMAHSN brings together the NHS, universities, industry and social care to transform the health of the region’s 4.9m residents and stimulate economic growth.

Improving Outcomes for Patients in Community Care: Innovation at Bromley Healthcare

Published and last updated by Alex Chafey

When it comes to innovation, have you properly considered the role of community services? With changes to integrated care happening from July, community care is finally starting to get the recognition it deserves. We spoke to one of our partners, Dr Cath Jenson, Medical Director at Bromley Healthcare, about the difference they are making.

Too often overlooked, community care is now being recognised as the glue between primary and secondary care, helping provider collaboratives within the new integrated care systems to succeed.

As medical director at community provider Bromley Healthcare, I’m proud of the role we play in testing innovative solutions for integrated care and using data to drive improvement. For example, did you know we are the accelerator site for two hour response in south east London? Or that we are driving new standards for outcomes in meeting the needs of frail and complex patients outside hospital, integrating with the ‘One Bromley’ proactive care pathway and our own therapy and rehabilitation services (including bedded unit)?

Many don’t know we have specialist nurses across numerous fields – our children’s ‘hospital at home’ being another example of our innovations (shortlisted for a 2021 RCN Nursing Award in the Child Health category) aimed at keeping patients at home safely with a growing range of complex medical needs previously requiring admission. Or that we are the prime contractor for out-of-hospital diabetes care in Bromley and have recently recruited the first population health apprentice in London to develop population health initiatives for One Bromley (including Primary Care Networks).

And then there’s the services we provide outside Bromley, including special care dentistry across south east  London and health visiting in Bexley and Greenwich. In total we have over 35 services and 1,200 staff making the difference to patients in their own homes and communities.

There is a wealth of experiences and ways to make a real difference to patients in community care and to further enhance this we are now recruiting to newly established Clinical Director positions, to cement and develop our clinical leadership. Further information:

Find out more

To find out more please email Dr Cath Jenson.

Get in touch

Innovation Exchange webinar: Modernising Primary Care Telephony

Published and last updated by Beatrice Howard

Event: Empowering Patients to Self-Manage

Our interactive webinar “Modernising Primary Care Telephony” took place on Wednesday 2 March, 12:30-14:00.

The webinar showcased telephony innovations, highlighting the potential for modern telephony to improve communication in primary care across London.

Presented by the Health Innovation Network in collaboration with the NHS England Digital First Programme London, we looked at how updating traditional telephone systems can improve interactions with patients and support PCN development, flexible and remote working and help streamline service delivery.

This event updated primary care staff about emerging national plans around primary care telephony and built on previous work undertaken in this area through the Digital First Programme and learning from ongoing projects. The event also showcased several products on the market, helping primary care staff understand the breath and depth of functionality that can transform primary care processes.

In addition, the HIN has produced a commissioning guide on Modernising Primary Care Telephony which is now available for download from the Health Innovation Network’s website. This report was commissioned by Our Healthier South East London ICS (OHSEL)through the Digital First Programme and delivered by the Health Innovation Network, the Academic Health Science Network for South London.

You can access the event pack and running order here, and the slide deck here.

Video Running Order

Start time Topic Presenter
00:00:00 Introduction from Chair/

Health Innovation Network

 

 Denis Duignan

Head of Digital Transformation & Technology

Health Innovation Network
00:04:50 Presentation:

A London region perspective around the opportunities of modern telephony in primary care.

 Matt Nye

Regional Director for Digital First Programmes

NHS England (London)
00:09:57 Five 2-minute pitches*

 

 Babble Ltd

Product: Babblevoice

Antoine Lever

Director

EVAD Think Healthcare

Product: Think Healthcare Solution

Mike Smyth

Think Healthcare Team Leader    

Exponential-e  

Product: UC-One

Tim Gilliatt

Public Sector Account Manager

Gamma

Product: Horizon, the modern Primary Care telephony choice

Amy Black

Business Development Executive                  

Premier Choice Group

Product: Premier Patient Line

James Gargaro

Sales Manager   

00:24:31 Presentation:

Taking an ICS wide approach to primary care telephony

 Brian Stennett

NWL GP Telephony Lead, Digital First

North West London CCG
00:34:07 Four 2-minute pitches* Voice Connect Ltd

Product:  Cloud Based Patient Partner with Automated Telephony Repeat Prescriptions Review and Ordering Service

Paul Trayler

Sales Director     

VTSL Limited

Product: GP Cloud Voice

Rob Walton                          

CEO

X-on      

Product: Surgery Connect Desktop App

Paul Bensley

Director

Yo Telecom       

Product: Bespoke Phone System

Daniel Mills

Senior Consultant              

00:41:02 Presentation:

Advanced Telephony National Update

 Nikki Hinchley

Head of GPIT Transformation, Digital Primary Care

NHS Transformation Directorate / NHS England & NHS Improvement
00:47:27 Panel discussion and Q&A session Speakers and Chair to take questions from the audience
01:16:13 Closing remarks Chair
* The Health Innovation Network and NHS England do not endorse or recommend any of the commercial innovations showcased at this Innovation Exchange event. The innovations referred to at the event are not preferred suppliers and there are other solutions that can support the challenges identified. This event is intended to inspire people as to how innovations can support health system problems, rather than endorse any specific solutions, with the sole intended purpose to be for guidance only.

Community Diagnostic Centres – Cardiology Innovation Exchange

Published and last updated by Beatrice Howard

Event: Empowering Patients to Self-Manage

Our “Community Diagnostic Centres – Cardiology Innovation Exchange” took place on Wednesday 1 December 2021 from 9:00- 12:00.

The NHS London Community Diagnostic Hub (CDC) Programme are working closely with clinical pathway groups in the design and development of the CDCs to ensure they are meeting the needs of patients and the health system. Health Innovation Network and UCLPartners (Academic Health Science Networks – AHSNs) are supporting the programme to advise on innovative solutions to support the CDCs, in order to improve efficiency and care for patients.

To showcase this work, all three London AHSNs (HIN, UCLP, and ICHP) hosted an Innovation Exchange Event that gave clinicians, pathway experts, system leaders and innovators an opportunity to engage and discuss the innovative solutions that can support the set-up of the CDCs.

The innovations that were presented at the event had been selected based on challenge areas identified through our structured engagement with a variety of stakeholders in the field. The current focus is on cardiology and the pathways linked to heart failure, atrial fibrillation, chest pain and valve disease.

Please note, the innovations referred to at the event are not preferred suppliers and there are other solutions that can support the challenges identified. This event was intended to inspire people as to how innovations can support health system problems, rather than endorse any specific solutions.

You can watch the recording below, access the event pack here, and access the slides here.

If you’d like to watch a specific presentation, timings can be found below;

“Transforming Cancer diagnosis through technology and AI” interactive webinar recording

Published and last updated by Beatrice Howard

Event: Empowering Patients to Self-Manage

Our interactive webinar raising awareness of innovative cancer diagnostic tools and practices in cancer in South East London took place on on Wednesday 17 November, 2021.

This webinar, presented by the Health Innovation Network and the South East London Cancer Alliance, looked at how Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are being used in diagnostic technology across multiple clinical areas in cancer.

We heard from Innovators and Tech companies including:

The SELCA Rapid Diagnostics Hub – The team will present their research on future practice and innovations to develop the service.

Kherion Medical – Transforming cancer diagnostics through the power of deep learning, helping radiology departments become more effective and efficient, overcome resource challenges, and improve patient experience.

Odin Vision – An award-winning Artificial Intelligence (AI) company founded by a team of eminent clinicians and artificial intelligence experts with the mission of creating the next generation of AI enabled applications for endoscopy.

Plus short pitches from health tech companies with solutions to improve the accuracy and speed of diagnosis, aid clinical decision-making, and lead to better health outcomes, including:

Behold – Bringing AI technologies to radiology departments in the NHS to support the accelerated diagnosis of acute, chronic and healthy patient examinations.

IBEX – Empowering pathologists to make quicker and more accurate diagnosis with state-of-the-art decision-support tools.

Pinpoint – Using AI analysis of blood tests to produce a calibrated probability that a patient has cancer in one of the nine main cancer groups, covering over 98% of all urgent cancer referrals.

Skin Analytics – Providing AI supported dermatology solutions in partnership with the NHS, supporting clinicians in their assessment of skin lesions.

You can watch the recording here and access the event pack here.

Effective sustainable answers to retention and recruitment challenges – The case for Open Collaborative Staff Bank

Published and last updated by Ahmed Shahrabani
Male nurse pushing stretcher gurney bed in hospital corridor with doctors & senior female patient

Blog

Back

The HIN works with a number of innovators which could potentially support the health and social care sector. Here we hear from one of the companies we have worked closely with. We would like to introduce Dr. Ahmed Shahrabani, doctor by trade and co-founder of Locum’s Nest – a holistic workforce solution connecting healthcare professionals to temporary work in healthcare organisations.

My Co-Founder, Dr Nicholas Andreou, and I worked together as first year doctors at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, South London, where we experienced first-hand the inefficiencies and problems that poor staffing created for us, our colleagues and, more importantly, our patients. We stood back from front-line medicine in 2016 and started Locum’s Nest, which has already saved the NHS £80 million by seamlessly filling vacant shifts, avoiding added admin and agency fees.

Our vision is to increase transparency, collaboration and improve care, through our intuitive mobile and web multi-product platform used by healthcare professionals and NHS management teams. Our mission was clear from the get-go: to remove barriers to workforce mobility across the NHS, which has led us to pioneer the formation of digital collaborative workforce banks across the country, enabling cross-covering of shifts across an ever-growing number of NHS Trusts.

With an existing significant workforce deficit, it is increasingly important in the context of the current pandemic to have the right workforce with the right skills in place to help deliver the best quality care to patients and maintain the service. As witnessed during the last six months, it is clear that technology has a vital role to play in this area.

However, owing to the way healthcare professionals are deployed – which can feel outdated and not aligned with levels of demand and patient needs – there are many factors which need to be addressed in order to help retain and recruit NHS staff.

Collaborative Staff Banks: Making the best use of our workforce with clever technology

We firmly believe in flexible and collaborative working and are continuously working on creative ways to support NHS organisations to work in a more transparent manner and increase engagement of their workforce.

After merging the Royal Surrey and Ashford & St Peter’s NHS FT contingent pool of workers in 2016, the two Trusts doubled their effective workforce of doctors overnight. The resulting workforce climate was exactly what we wanted to create, enabling absolute NHS workforce mobility and improving patient continuity of care.

This grassroot project, enabling clinicians to cross-cover vacant shifts is now known as The Digital Collaborative Bank (DCB) and has expanded to eight acute NHS Trusts, namely: Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The DCB, spanning across 150 miles, now counts over 5,000 clinicians across all grades and specialties, covering thousands of shifts each month, positively contributing to continuity of patient care and saving millions on agency costs.

There’s never been a better time to end silo working and embrace collaboration

By working openly and collaboratively, the group’s fill rate (amount of vacant shifts covered by clinicians) was consistently 5-10 per cent higher than the average Trust working independently, reaching a record-breaking 91 per cent shift fill rate across all eight Trusts at the height of the pandemic.

Despite these positive results, the NHS as a whole has not yet agreed to operate cohesively as one employer. Instead, hospitals up and down the country unfortunately continue to compete and work in silos. Over the decades this has often proved counter-productive, with organisations blocking available clinicians from offering their services to other organisations by ring-fencing their contingent workforce.

After years of working with Trusts’ leaders, conducting academic research, plus collating data and testimonials from leaders in technology, workforce and clinical services within the NHS, we produced our Workforce Report exploring the consequences of ring-fencing our contingent workforce vs breaking down freedom-of-movement barriers. This report makes a strong ethical, financial and practical case for an open bank approach as a key strategy in tackling our health service’s workforce challenges across four key aspects:

  • staff morale;
  • patient care;
  • financials; and
  • governance.

To support healthcare organisations even further, the team has created an entire library of content with plenty of resources dedicated to the creation of collaborative staff bank.

Event: Empowering Patients to Self-Manage

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

Event: Empowering Patients to Self-Manage

Brought to you by our Innovation theme.

Are you a Health and Social Care professional interested in learning more about digital solutions to support patients to self-manage or a company with a digital self-management solution that would like to pitch your idea? Then look no further and join us on Thursday 21 May.

What you will get

This interactive Webinar will bring together Social Care, Primary Care, Trusts, CCGs and innovators to explore solutions for empowering patients to self-manage their long-term conditions, mental health and wellbeing using digital solutions.

We will begin with a presentation from James Woollard of Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust on the potential for self management platforms to support patients. Chris Gumble from NHS South West London CCG will share their experiences with the Diabetes Decathlon project and the collaboration with Sweatcoin, an exercise incentivisation app. Charlotte Lee, the Director of Big Health UK will present lessons learnt whilst rolling out the digital self-care platform Sleepio across the NHS.

Join key stakeholders from NHS providers and commissioners to learn about digital self-management solutions including:

  • education for specific health conditions;
  • peer-led courses;
  • online self-management tools;
  • telephone support and telehealth; and
  • self-monitoring of medication and symptoms using digital technology.

Ten leading companies will each present a short pitch at the event on how their solutions can help patients manage their conditions and play a more active role in their own healthcare decisions.

How to sign up

Health and Social Care professionals, contact Karla Richards, Project Manager for the Innovation Theme to secure your place.

Are you a company that would like to pitch?* Contact Karla Richards, Project Manager for the Innovation Theme for further details on how to be selected.

*please note the deadline for pitch submissions is 6 May.

Self-management could help ease the high demand on GPs

Published and last updated by Rita Mogaiji

Self-management could help ease the high demand on GPs

To help ease the high demand on GPs across south London, self-management is a priority in the NHS 10-Year Plan and focuses on key areas like diabetes prevention and management, cardiovascular, asthma and respiratory conditions, maternity and parenting support and online therapies for common mental health conditions.

Individuals need support to build the skills and confidence necessary for effective self-management of longstanding conditions, and health professionals need to be aware of and trained on the available supportive tools, taking account of any inequalities and accessibility barriers their patients may face.

Research presented by Self Management UK[1] shows that, on average, people living with a heath condition spend just three hours per year with their healthcare team—the rest of their time is spent self-managing these conditions. NHS organisations need to work closely with local authorities and other partners to provide the support and guidance to help south Londoners self-manage properly.

There are many interventions available to help support the self-management of common conditions, some of which are:

  • education for specific health conditions;
  • peer-led courses;
  • online self-management tools;
  • telephone support and telehealth; and
  • self-monitoring of medication and symptoms using digital technology.

How can innovation help? 

You can help respond to our local needs by addressing the following challenge statements:

  1. How might we maximise digital solutions to support self-management of health risks and chronic conditions?
  2. How can digital solutions emphasise patient responsibility and, acting in conjunction with the provider community, move beyond education, enabling individuals to actively identify challenges and solve problems associated with their illness?
  3. What are the barriers to public awareness and successful patient uptake of these self-management solutions?

We’d love to collaborate with you on these challenges. Please get in touch with Karla Richards karla.richards@nhs.net if you have a digital solution for health and care self-management, including for long-term conditions, mental health, heart disease, COPD etc.

Contact Karla

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How technology can improve the delivery of social care services

Published and last updated by Rita Mogaiji
 

How technology can improve the delivery of social care services

With a growing population of older and disabled adults, London’s demand for care is placing the social care system under huge strain. Further to this, London Councils estimates that boroughs across the city have experienced a combined loss of more than £4 billion in core funding since 2010 (a reduction of around 63%). We need to think differently about how and where services are delivered, utilising digital solutions to maximise the workforce and care provided.

Health and social care systems are critical to maintaining the physical and mental wellbeing of Londoners. We need a digital revolution in adult social care, starting with exploring how social care services could be delivered digitally. Technology has the potential to help free up staff time by enabling users to access services digitally, thereby improving their independence, efficiency and wellbeing and reducing the need for in-person care visits simply for reassurance. Where this type of digital solution has been implemented, service users report that it helps to increase their digital literacy and independence and reduces their social isolation. It has also led to more flexible working for social care staff.

On Friday 13 March 2020 at St Thomas’ Hospital we hosted an Innovation Exchange event on the ‘Digital Revolution in Social Care’. The event brought together our members and key stakeholders in this field to discuss and showcase the most cutting-edge digital innovations to both inspire and practically help our industry partners to shape the future of social care delivery.

If you are interested in learning more about this innovation challenge please email Lesley.soden@nhs.net or if you missed the event you can see a glimpse of what you missed below.

The urgency for digital innovation in urgent and emergency care

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

The desperate need for digital innovation in urgent and emergency care – sparking connections and inspiring innovations

Written by Lesley Soden, Programme Director, Innovation Theme, Health Innovation Network

This winter has once again been a record-breaking one for A&E departments across the country —but not in a good way. Programme Director of Innovation, Lesley Soden, reflects on how technology, and not targets, needs to be the centre of the discussion to really support health and care providers delivering urgent care.

According to data and analysis published in the Health Service Journal earlier this month, overall type-one performance in emergency and urgent care units—the turnaround time for treating the most critical patients in A&E—has fallen nearly 11 percentage points since December 2018, while some individual trusts have experienced a year-on-year slide of between 20 and 30 per cent.

But how can anyone be surprised when in London alone, A&Es saw over 25,000 more patients in December 2019 than they did in December 2018.[1] Service expectations and pressures grow higher, while clinical staff continue to be spread thinner.

But instead of joining in the discussion on whether the targets need to change, I want to talk to you about the impact that existing technology could have on the urgent and emergency care system. Last October, at Health Innovation Network (HIN), we partnered with the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme to host an Innovation Exchange event to debate exactly the question I believe is the most important to answer – how can technology help? At the event, we brought together key stakeholders from the urgent and emergency care sector in London and creators of some of the latest innovations tackling ever-growing issues with the wait times and overall efficiency  The event sought to achieve two things; firstly, to share a deeper understanding of vital NHS needs with the health tech innovators, and secondly, to start the conversation about how digital innovations that are already transforming other areas of healthcare might be able to help.

An honest discussion

Determined not to present an idealistic view of transformation, we started the day discussing the complexities of digital innovation. There are 32 CCGs across London, each with different systems, providers, patient pathways and data flows. This lack of cohesion across the board can result in real challenges for the introduction of new innovations, particularly digital ones. For example, a product may fit into one hospital easily, but be incompatible with another. Similarly, a product may require or generate specific data that we don’t have a standard process for sharing across multiple settings. These challenges are best appreciated when you look at urgent and emergency care. It is here that speed and effectiveness can make the difference in highly pressurised life or death situations.

It was eye-opening to hear about the level of activity that the London Ambulance Service (LAS) experiences. LAS handle approximately 5,000 emergency calls every day in London and has approximately 6,000 staff, 65 per cent of them front line staff responding to emergencies. On average, the LAS responds to all Category 1 calls (the most serious of emergency calls) within 6 mins 28 seconds. In these often-chaotic situations, bandwidth, hardware and human factors such as the staff’s experience of the technology, are all integral to a successful A&E handover.

Where technology is already helping

Stuart Crichton, Chief Clinical Information Officer (CCIO) at the LAS, described one of the challenges they experienced when implementing the use of iPads. The issue lay with ensuring that paramedics remembered their most up-to-date passwords. As we all do on occasion, staff kept forgetting their login details or couldn’t access their most up-to-date credentials (a password reminder was sent to an email address they couldn’t easily access). To resolve this issue, LAS removed the need for usernames and passwords, opting instead for using fingerprint recognition, the same type of technology many people use day-to-day with smart phones and tablets. Stuart described this as an exciting breakthrough, and a simple solution the LAS believes will have a positive impact in crucial life and death situations.

Dr. Gabriel Jones, Consultant of Emergency Medicine at St George’s NHS Foundation Trust, described the lightbulb moment he had when looking around the waiting room one day and noticing that almost all the patients who were waiting were using their smart phones. In the UK, 78 per cent of adults now have a smartphone. Dr. Jones recognised this as an opportunity to try something new. They designed a digital solution and set up a pilot, known at the hospital as ED Check-in, that enables patients to input information to a secure mobile website via their smart phones while they wait. A doctor can then access that information instantly, and it follows the patients through their hospital journey, keeping clinicians informed at each stage. Sometimes, clinicians with an entrepreneurial nature can design the best solutions to challenges within their health services, which is why it’s so important that they’re included in conversations around digital innovation.

… to create positive change, it’s imperative that today’s innovators understand the complications as well so they can deliver the most appropriate digital solutions

At the event, we were lucky enough to have guest speaker Eileen Sutton, Head of Urgent and Emergency Care at the Healthy London Partnership (HLP) and London Regional Integrated Urgent Care (IUC) Lead at NHS England. Eileen is a District Nurse by background and has a range of experience across the IUC system. She identified the need to reduce the number of people turning up at A&E with conditions or illnesses that could be treated at home, by a community pharmacist or other care professionals, and the need to improve patient flow to reduce the time spent waiting to be treated upon arriving at A&E as some of the greatest challenges. We know that NHS expert staff are the only ones who really understand the high complexity and nuance of these situations, but in order to create positive change, it’s imperative that today’s innovators understand the complications as well so they can deliver the most appropriate digital solutions.

Working with the DigtialHealth.London Accelerator Programme, we were able to identify 11 companies that offer solutions to these two main challenges. We held a rigorous and open application process for innovators to attend this event, during which they had the opportunity to pitch their innovations to London NHS commissioners, trusts and other NHS expert staff.

The companies selected to present were:

To demonstrate the real-world application of the innovations, we created some fictional scenarios in which the innovators present could help to reduce A&E attendance and improve patient flow.

Scenario one: Reducing A&E attendance challenge

We discussed Ahmed, a frequent visitor to his A&E for a number of minor ailments that could be managed by a pharmacy or primary care. At his next visit, he is referred to the Health Navigator solution and assigned a Health Coach, with whom he speaks weekly. He now rarely visits A&E and has joined local classes.

And Claire, who is worried that she has a UTI. We offer her a virtual and confidential consultation via Q Doctor with a doctor at a local urgent care centre instead. The doctor refers her to the local pharmacy to use the Dip-IO test from Healthy.io, which tests positive and the pharmacist then prescribes antibiotics.

And then Bob who calls 111. He is re-directed to the MedicSpot station at his local pharmacy, where he is given a remote consultation with a virtual doctor, who takes his blood pressure checks for other vital signs.

All three patients are given the care they needed in a timely and effective manner, without the need for ambulance or a prolonged wait in A&E.

Scenario two: Improving patient flow and reducing waiting times challenge 

For our next challenge, we talked about Mary, who has multiple complex co-morbidities and goes to her local A&E when she experiences tingling in her legs. In the reception area, there are tablets with the eConsult triage system. Mary checks in using a tablet, by answering a few brief clinical questions about her symptoms. The system automatically triages Mary by her clinical symptoms within five minutes of her arrival.

While Mary is in the waiting area, she also inputs her symptoms, medication and medical history into the MedCircuit app, which helps save the doctor time and uses Mary’s wait more efficiently.

Mary sees the A&E doctor, but the light isn’t working in one of the consultation rooms. She uses the MediShout app to report this logistical issue, which links to the estates helpdesk and reports it immediately. She receives a notification that it will be fixed in two hours.

The doctor runs a full blood count test using Horiba’s Microsemi CRP device, which gives test results in four minutes. Mary is transferred to the x-ray department using the Infinity ePortering system to request a porter, saving critical time for herself and the doctors.

The A&E department also uses CEMBooks, which allows the consultant managing Mary’s case to plan her care and predict the demand for inpatient beds if this is required.

Mary deteriorates rapidly and requires a transfer to a specialist hospital. During her transfer in the ambulance, the MediVue platform provides real-time data taken from her monitor and active correspondence between the transferring doctor and the receiving hospital.

When she arrives at the specialist hospital, staff are prepared to smoothly transfer her to the appropriate unit, having already been informed of her history and symptoms.

These may be fictional scenarios, but they represent just a fraction of the real-life attendances to emergency care that technology could be helping make safer, more efficient and a better experience for both staff and patients. And most significantly, whilst time and efficiency were intended benefits of the digital solutions presented at the event, the focus of our discussions were about patient outcomes and supporting staff to deliver. Maybe if we changed the focus from targets to technology nationally too, we’d get to a clearer solution more quickly.

About the author

Lesley Soden
Programme Director – Innovation Theme, Health Innovation Network

Lesley has led the HIN’s Innovation Exchange function since 2017. She has over 20 years’ experience in the NHS and public sector working in senior business/strategy and programme management roles. Her roles have included work with transformation, contracts and commercial, programme delivery, business development/ planning, bid writing and clinical service re-design, all delivered in collaboration with a variety of partnerships. She is interested in new ways of working and maximising technology to improve patient care.

References 

Clover, B. (2020). Five trusts fail four-hour target in more than half of A&E cases. Health Service Journal, [online] pp.1-4. [Accessed 16 Jan. 2020].

Explore our work
Visit the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator website

Invitation to pitch: digital workforce transformation showcase

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

Invitation to pitch: digital workforce transformation showcase

We all know that the NHS is facing increasing demands on its services. Alongside the challenges of recruiting and retaining clinical professionals, there is a role for technology as a driver of productivity within the clinical workforce.

Working in collaboration with NHS England, and NHS Improvement, the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator is running a showcase event for HR Directors exploring how technology can help NHS staff and employers to improve workforce productivity, recruitment and retention.

We are looking for ten companies to present their innovations, and in particular, innovations that are already being used by NHS employers and that meet workforce challenges including:

  • Recruitment / time to hire
  • HR transactional tasks / HR productivity
  • Workforce capacity management / clinical workforce productivity
  • Retention
  • Staff wellbeing (physical and mental health)

If selected, you will give a three-minute pitch to the audience on how they could adopt your innovation(s) in their organisations. You will also participate in our “world café” session to discuss your solution in more detail. We aim to help you generate warm leads by curating a receptive audience for workforce innovations.

We are looking for innovations that are already well-developed – this is not an event for innovations at the idea stage.

Please apply to take part by downloading and completing this short form and returning it to geraldine.murphy8@nhs.net by 5pm on Friday 10 May.

Event details

  • Date and time: Tuesday 11 June, 17:00 – 20:30
  • Venue: DAC Beachcroft, Walbrook Building, 25 Walbrook, EC4N 8AF

Agenda

  • 16:30-17:00 Registration
  • 17:00- 17:05 Welcome
  • 17:05-17:15 Clinical Productivity – Andy Howlett, Clinical Productivity Operations Director, NHS England / Improvement
  • 17:15-17:25  Can technology and artificial intelligence help to improve workforce productivity and create a more agile workforce? What can be done now? – Lesley Soden, Head of Innovation, Health Innovation Network
  • 17:25-17:35 NHS Trust Case Study: Lessons from transforming our medical workforce – Alfredo Thompson, HR Director, North Middlesex Hospitals NHS Trust; Dr Frances Evans, Medical Director, North Middlesex Hospitals NHS Trust
  • 17:35-17:50 Q&A
  • 17:50-18:20 Company pitches
  • 18:20-18:30 Close – Lesley Soden, Head of Innovation, Health Innovation Network
  • 18:30-20:00 Refreshments and networking

 

Top Tips for innovators

Published and last updated by Rahel Gerezgiher

Top Tips for Innovators

Got a great innovation that could radicalise the health care system but overwhelmed by the complexity of the NHS? Lesley Soden, Head of Innovation gives her top tips on how to build relationships with NHS and local authority contacts so you can get your innovation successfully implemented.

With Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock’s increased focus on the advancements of digital and technological solutions for the NHS, the market for health innovations is booming. Whilst it is an exciting time for health tech, for innovators themselves it makes for a crowded marketplace. In addition to the competition you face, you are also expected to navigate the complex landscape of the NHS.

Getting your innovation adopted in the NHS sphere can feel like opening a sticky door that requires the hinges to be oiled continuously. At the Health Innovation Network, we are approached by about 3-4 innovators every week looking for advice and support with getting their innovation bought by the NHS. Whilst every innovation requires different proof-points, we have learnt a number of lessons through our experience of improving the take-up of the Innovation and Technology Payment products across South London, and developed some key steps that all innovators can follow to increase their chances of getting their innovation, product or service adopted.

Target the right people

Having an engagement plan to target the right people at the right time, will stop you wasting yours. For example, if the innovation helps with managing referrals more effectively then a General Manager or Operational Director will be your target audience. If your innovation addresses a patient safety issue, then the Medical Director of Director of Nursing will be the decision-maker you need to approach. Work out which part of the system your innovation will save them money and then work out who is in charge of spending for that department.

Tip: if your innovation has the potential to save money for an NHS provider don’t target commissioners. Also, Trusts often have transformation teams who could help with getting your innovation adopted if there is evidence that it will improve patient care.

Tailor your message

In general, all NHS Trusts or Clinical Commissioning Groups will have the same system pressures as everyone else. These could be A&E waiting times, or the increasing demand caused by more patients having more complex conditions. However, individual decision-makers will have different priorities that concern them on a daily basis. To make sure your message is getting heard you should tailor it to the specific pressures or problems that your innovation could help them with.  For example, the Director of Nursing will probably be concerned with their nursing vacancies and agency costs, or patient safety while the Director of Finance and Performance’s priority is more likely to be addressing long waiting lists, or meeting their savings target.

Tip: trust board reports and Clinical Commissioning Group board reports are all published via their website; by scanning these board papers you can identify their specific issues and make it clear that your innovation solves their problems.

Get clinician approval first

Don’t even think about approaching any director or commissioner if you don’t have sufficient clinician buy-in. After all, they are the people who will be using your innovation on day-to-day and will need to be convinced of its value if you want it to get implemented properly. Approach the clinical teams to highlight the clinical and patient benefits of your innovation, and test their interest, before trying to get it bought for their hospital.

Tip: you are more likely to have an impact with this audience if you show that you’ve done some research. Do the testing, build up an evidence-base and then make your approach.

Learn about procurement

Don’t underestimate the potential for procurement processes to slow down or even stall getting your innovation into the NHS. Procurement is often a lengthy process in trusts, (for very good reason given it is taxpayer money that is being spent) the complexities of which need to be understood and respected.

Tip: engage with procurement teams to understand the process for buying your innovation, so you can don’t delay getting the sign-off for your innovation being adopted.

Refine your pitch

Contrary to popular belief, products generally aren’t so good they sell themselves. I hear 2-3 pitches a week from individuals with a health innovation and the majority of them fall down at the same hurdles. Firstly, don’t start your pitch with the generalist tabloid problems with the NHS. An NHS manager hearing for the third time that week that the NHS has no money and national targets are consistently not being met they will disengage. Instead, touch upon the challenge that your innovation will solve and then give detail on how your innovation is the solution. And the devil is in the detail. All too often pitches include vague statements about an innovation rather than actual detail. The best pitches are those that give overview of the innovation, clinical evidence, quantify return on investment and give an example of past or current implementation within the NHS. Spell out the real benefits using robust data and evidence, but don’t promise you can solve all their problems if you don’t have the proof.

Tip: return on investment is extremely important to highlight early on in your pitch. For example, one company recently included the fact that a different maternity unit had commissioned their online platform because it would save them money on public liability insurance. This type of evidence is impressive, clear and makes it easy to forecast the exact numbers by which your product will make them clear savings. This will always grab people’s attention.

Show how your innovation works

This sounds simple – and it is. People don’t just want to hear about how a product works, they want to see it and even try it out where possible. If it’s a medical device, make sure you bring it with you. Or if it’s a digital solution, do a short demo to help people to visualise your innovation.

Tip: have a quick pitch on your product ready and ensure that it clearly explains how your product works. Practise a 60 second pitch for meeting potential customers on an ad-hoc basis at networking events.

Be persistent, but polite

It’s unlikely that the first email you send will result in a bulk order of your product. It’s probably unlikely it will even result in a meeting. But that doesn’t mean you should stop knocking on doors. ‘No replies’ are not the same as rejection. And rejection can sometimes be ‘not now’ rather than a straight ‘no’. If you believe your product can transform the health care system for the better, then there’s a good chance you can convince someone else of that too.

Tip: don’t assume the worst in people when they don’t respond. Your target audience are busy and overwhelmed by pitches. Maintaining your professionalism and manners at all times will always go further to getting an answer than aggressive chasing.

As I said, getting your innovation adopted in the NHS can feel like opening a sticky door that requires the hinges to be oiled continuously. If you take a hammer to it, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to repair the damage caused to relationships in the future.

Lesley Soden is the Head of Innovation within the Health Innovation Network. She has over 20 years experience in the NHS and public sector. She has worked in senior business and strategy roles in mental health and community NHS Trusts involving programme management, business development, bid writing and service re-design, all delivered in collaborations with a variety of public and private health partners.

For more information on how we work with innovators, visit our Innovation Exchange page or read about our funding opportunities here.