New healthcare innovations set to be rolled out

By The Press Association5th July 2015News EnglandHealth and Wellbeing, Innovation, News England, NHS, Technology

Seventeen healthcare pioneers are due to find out that their inventions are to be rolled out to patients, hospitals and GP practices across England.

A smartphone heart monitor, a tool to diagnose liver disease and a ground-breaking genetic research programme that allows doctors to diagnose, predict and prevent illnesses more effectively will be expanded after being chosen for the programme, which had more than 120 entries.

A service developed by a nurse consultant at University College London Hospital Trust that has been helping 2,500 people with multiple sclerosis to self-manage their condition more effectively will also be extended to benefit more than 100,000 patients and adapted to serve people living with other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s and epilepsy.

A scheme to get more people involved in dementia research will also be rolled out with the aim of recruiting 100,000 people.

The 17 successful projects will receive funding and coaching as they are implemented with the hope they will prevent diseases, speed up diagnosis, improve safety and efficiency and increase patient participation.

Cancer, mental health, maternity care and cardiovascular disease are other areas that will benefit from the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme.

NHS medical director Sir Bruce Keogh said: “The NHS stands on the cusp of a revolution innovation. At its heart, innovation is the will to better, to find solutions for existing needs or new problems through more effective products, processes, technology or even the way we deliver services.

“Today we increase the opportunity for improving patient care by creating new conditions for ideas to thrive.”

Jo Bibby, director of strategy at the Health Foundation, which will help deliver the projects, said: “It’s hugely exciting to see the potential of this programme and its likely longer-term impact on the experience of patients.

“We have seen, through a number of Health Foundation projects, how creating a critical mass of experts all with a common goal can yield excellent results for our health service, its delivery and future shape.”