As health and care services are facing challenges on many fronts, innovation and reform of the NHS is crucial. With a record number of people on waiting lists, high staff vacancy rates, outdated buildings and equipment, and public satisfaction with the NHS at its lowest recorded level, yesterday’s National Innovation Accelerator (NIA) launch could inspire significant change.
At the event held in Manchester, the NIA announced a new cohort of Fellows, innovators who represent a diverse range of healthcare innovation and social care solutions, to improve patient care and drive positive transformation across the NHS and healthcare sphere.
The 12 new NIA Fellows aim to bring their expertise and inventive concepts to the forefront – ranging from digital health technologies to innovative care delivery models, their solutions seek to tackle the most pressing challenges confronting healthcare today.
“In an era of formidable challenges, these innovations provide glimpses of a more promising future for the NHS, benefiting both its dedicated staff and the patients they serve.”
Jack Porter, Co-Director of the NHS Innovation Accelerator
Why Should Innovation be Accelerated Within the NHS?
The NHS faces a critical challenge regarding innovation, compounded by operational pressures, surging demand, persistent health inequalities, and poor outcomes. With staff and services stretched to their limits, the NHS is struggling to meet the diverse needs of patients while maintaining quality care.
Accelerating innovation within the NHS will help alleviate operational burdens by streamlining processes, optimising resource allocation and enhancing the efficiency of care delivery. Innovation will also provide an opportunity to address root causes of health inequalities, enabling the development of targeted interventions and initiatives tailored to individuals. By embracing innovation, the NHS can also strive towards improving patient outcomes, fostering greater equity in access to healthcare services, and ultimately advancing the overall well-being of the population.
Therefore, accelerating innovation within the NHS is not just a strategic choice but necessary to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of healthcare delivery.
Insight from the NIA event:
Aware of the slow pace and scale of innovation within the NHS, the NIA showcased a diverse array of solutions aimed at revolutionising healthcare delivery. These innovations address various themes, each contributing to a specific aspect of patient care and healthcare management.
For example, aiming to advance post-treatment patient care, Boost Breast Forms seeks to provide lightweight and comfortable post-breast cancer treatment options. Meanwhile, Cognitant’s interactive digital programs empower individuals with long-term conditions, highlighting the use of technology to enhance patient education and self-management. Additionally, advancement like C2-Ai’s AI-driven risk stratfication tool and Deep Medical’s appointment optimisation AI showcase the transformative potential of technology in improving patient safety and streamlining healthcare processes.
To read more about the innovative ideas from the rest of 2024 cohort, please click here.
Moreover, the panel discussion between industry and the healthcare system showed that there is an evolving new way of working between industry and private sector innovators. In order to scale this, the NHS needs to overcome inherent structural issues such as the fact that it is run by pilot schemes, rather than their own series of scalable programmes.
The event highlighted the acute need to move away from outdated and unsuitable type of practice and move towards a culture that is more innovative – one that communicates innovation across the system and across its own, unique geography.
Final thoughts:
While acknowledging the slow pace of innovation within the healthcare system, the presence of organisations like the NIA offers hope for accelerating progress. The 2024 NIA Fellows signify a significant stride towards fostering impactful innovations within the NHS, ultimately contributing to the enhancement of patient care.
With the aim to showcase how to turn policy into practice, the Curia team are always interested in receiving case studies of best practice that may feed into this work. If you may know about a case where policy was effectively delivered into practice, please send the details of this to team@curiauk.com. These will be shared with our Life Sciences Research Group, Advisory Board, leaders in the NHS/public sector and Health, Care and Life Sciences Research Group members.
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