31.03.15
NHS England launches Test Bed programme in search of innovation
NHS England has issued a worldwide call for innovators across all sectors to join a programme to develop new technologies for use with local healthcare services.
The NHS Test Bed programme, working with the 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), is looking for companies to partner with existing healthcare systems to combine new technologies with innovations occurring in the health service.
The best ideas will receive national support and be tested in a clinical environment.
These test beds may include combinations of GPs, hospitals, community health teams, social care and the voluntary sector. According to NHS England they will need to have the ability to implement innovations on a large scale, and to collect evidence of the improvement of outcomes delivered to patients.
Some of the example ideas include wearable technology for patients combined with new patterns of working for clinical and nursing staff, which will aim to help patients manage long-term conditions.
The new programme is intended to address the shortcomings of previous approaches, where new technologies have been tested alone, in isolation from complementary innovations in how NHS services are delivered, limiting the value they produce.
NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said: “The NHS’s ambition is to become the best place on the planet to test new combinations of innovations that produce clear payoffs for patients and taxpayers. We’ll never be the system that pays the highest prices, we could be the health service most open to new and better ways of providing care.”
Rachel Munton, chair of the network of AHSNs, added: “The 15 AHSNs have been at the forefront of supporting and spreading new ideas, new technologies and new ways of improving services for patients since they were formed.
“We are therefore delighted to play our part in supporting local health and care systems to take advantage of this exciting opportunity to partner with innovators and take radical steps towards modernising and improving the services they offer to patients. We also look forward to being able to take the learning and the success stories from test beds to other systems across the NHS in the coming years.”
The application process is open and closes on 29 May; further information on the scheme and submitting bids can be found at www.england.nhs.uk/testbeds
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