Blogs

Embracing and recognising diversity is extremely important to the communities we live in and to our NHS – this applies to people who work in the NHS and communities the NHS serves. It’s also critical that patients are at the heart of all that we do and understanding people’s lived experience is key to getting it right.

We have seen a really challenging and disruptive few months. The coronavirus pandemic has had a massive impact on our NHS and we have seen a disproportionate effect on those from BAME communities – evidence shows those from these communities are three to four times more likely to die from COVID-19.  As well as a widespread pandemic we have seen Black Lives Matter protests –highlighting the racial inequalities that still exist in pockets of our society. These events have made me think about my culture, my roots and my heritage. The national Windrush Day is a great opportunity to celebrate and recognise those who have paved the way.

In a keynote address earlier this year, Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, spoke about better technology being a necessity, not a ‘nice to have’ saying “better technology is vital to have and embracing it is the only way to make the NHS sustainable over the long term”.

It can be argued that this point is even more pertinent now given the challenges faced by the health and care system as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time we have seen digital technology and innovation deployed tactically and at an unprecedented pace within the NHS, to maximise efficiencies and improve outcomes.

We are currently seeking a Senior Improvement Lead to join our Patient Safety team (deadline for applications is 21 August 2020).

Here our previous Senior Improvement Lead Laura Hailes, who has left to take on a national patient safety role for NHS England and NHS Improvement, talks about her experiences working as part of the Patient Safety team.

To find out more about the role and how to apply, visit the NHS Jobs website.

Nutrition and hydration are extremely important, particularly for older people. Insufficient food and fluid intake can cause fragile skin, increased risk of infections and falls, kidney problems, along with other avoidable consequences.

Care home residents are particularly susceptible to malnutrition and dehydration based on their age, health conditions and their increased dependency.

The East Midlands Digital Health Accelerator is a support programme for a small number of Digital Health innovators who we believe have an exciting and worthwhile innovation that can make a real difference to our health and care system.

We selected three companies for our 2019-20 cohort who over the next year will receive support from EMAHSN experts to support the development of their businesses and innovations.

Here, Lucy Champ Business Development Director at WoundWorks, one of our Accelerator companies, talks about their adoption and spread journey and why they applied to the Digital Health Accelerator programme. 

The East Midlands Digital Health Accelerator is a support programme for a small number of Digital Health innovators who we believe have an exciting and worthwhile innovation that can make a real difference to our health and care system.

We selected three companies for our 2019-20 cohort who over the next year will receive support from EMAHSN experts to further the spread and adoption of their innovations.

Here Michael-Morgan Curran, Commercial and Clinical Development Officer gives an overview of MyCognition, their experience of navigating the NHS and how they feel the East Midlands Digital Health Accelerator will help with the adoption and spread of their innovation.

Innovators often wonder why the NHS fails to adopt their products when to them it seems to be a ‘no brainer’, but I always make a point to ask them “have you actually expressed a clear Value Proposition?”

Here Tony Doyle from Qbtech tells us his motivation for becoming an NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) fellow following the announcement of 11 new fellows for 2020, what he hopes to get out of the scheme and his experiences of striving to improve diagnosis of ADHD.

QbTest measures attention, impulsivity and motor activity all at the same time. These are the core symptoms of ADHD and accurate measurement adds objectivity to support faster diagnosis. I have worked for Qbtech, the company behind the QbTest, for just over nine years and in that time I’ve seen the tool spread to 20% of all acute and mental health NHS trusts in England. I have always worked in health and care, including roles in pharmaceuticals and in mental health. When I saw the position at Qbtech it married up my personal interests in mental health and technology. What really appeals is that we’re making a real difference to people.

As it’s LGBT history month, I wanted to use this opportunity to reflect on how my AHSN (East Midlands) approaches diversity and inclusion of the LGBT community in our quest to spread innovation within the health and care system.

I saw a thought-provoking and inspirational TEDxNHS talk by Jacob Bayliss called ‘Pride in Practice’. Identifying as a trans man, Jacob talks about the issues that the ‘invisibility’ of gender and sexuality can have within the health and care system and the impact this can have.

As our organisation is growing, we are seeking a new Senior Innovation Lead to join the team (deadline for applications is 6 January 2020).

Here our Senior Innovation Lead Dawn Plummer talks about her role and responsibilities, what she enjoys and is looking forward to working on and what it is like working at EMAHSN to give any candidates a flavour of what they could expect working here.

We are currently seeking Senior Innovation Leads, two permanent posts and an additional fixed term contract / secondment to cover maternity leave. (deadlines for application is 14 May 2020).

Earlier this year our Senior Innovation Lead Dawn Plummer told us about her role and responsibilities, what she enjoys and what she was looking forward to working on at the time and what it is like working at EMAHSN to give any candidates a flavour of what they could expect working here.

Currently colleagues are working hard to proactively support the health and care system throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes brokering relationships between healthcare and industry to accelerate the adoption of useful technologies, providing patient safety support in priority areas along with enabling access to resources and supporting industry partners to register products and access funding for COVID-related technology. You can find out more about this here.

To find out more about the role and how to apply, visit the NHS Jobs website.

For World COPD Day, our Senior Improvement Lead Jose Garcia Escudero looks at some of the wider contexts in relation to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and current work being undertaken in the East Midlands to improve patient safety of those living with the condition.

The British Lung Foundation describes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as “a group of lung conditions that make it difficult to empty air out of the lungs because the airways have become narrowed”. COPD can be treated but not cured and its seriousness should not be underestimated.

Following our Long Term Conditions Innovation Exchange in 2017, Nottingham University Hospitals put forward a proposal to trial a digital outpatient follow up project to reduce unnecessary appointments for patients and help improve patient experience.

Following a successful roll out in three clinical specialties, the project has been shortlisted for a HSJ Award in the Digitising Patient Services category. Here Clinical Lead for the project, Dr M. Ananth Sivanandan, talks about the project and the benefits so far, as well as the importance of digital innovation in healthcare.

Here Sarah Bolton, Business Manager at the Centre for Healthcare Equipment and Technology Adoption (CHEATA), experts in evidence gathering for NHS adoption, talks about the importance of the different types of evidence medtech innovators can use to support their commercialisation and adoption. 

Here at CHEATA we meet developers of medical technology regularly and more often than not, the question that is asked is – ‘What can we do to get our device adopted by the NHS?’ The answer is never straightforward, but it usually revolves around one thing – evidence.

To mark World Patient Safety Day and International Patient Safety Day (17 September 2019) I wanted to reflect on how the UK’s network of 15 Patient Safety Collaboratives fit into the bigger picture of a culture of safety within the health and care system.  

From a worldwide perspective, patient safety as a theme unites our unique health and care systems as safety can only be achieved through an integrated approach which focuses on continuous improvement and learning – regardless of the country in question, to improve patient safety the process needs to be iterative.

Landelijke Prevalentiemeting Zorgkwaliteit (LPZ) - Care Homes Harms Prevalence Audit Tool measures the occurrence of common care issues such as pressure ulcers, continence, nutrition, falls, restraint and pain. Routinely reviewing LPZ data, allows care homes to make improvements to the care they deliver resulting in reduced falls, reduced pressure ulcers and improved continence and pain management.

The East Midlands Patient Safety Collaborative (EM PSC) initially started delivering the LPZ programme, which was developed by Maastricht University in the Netherlands, in 2016. After establishing that improving safety in care homes was a priority area, the East Midlands’ team searched for best-practice examples of care home safety initiatives to address common care issues. LPZ was selected as an exemplar for improving patient care and safety in this area.

Geoff Smith OBE, EMAHSN Patient and Public Involvement Senate Member

Geoff has been a prominent member of the EMAHSN Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Senate for five years. He is retiring as a Senate member on his eighty-ninth birthday after making an incredible contribution to the Senate and the wider health and care system across the East Midlands. Here he gives an account of his experience in PPI across the region and an overview of the importance of PPI and the EMAHSN PPI Senate.

Here, Dr Mittal PReCePT Clinical Lead, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust talks about his role in PReCePT and his experiences of the programme so far.  To find out more about PReCePT you can visit: www.healthinnovation-em.org.uk/our-work/innovations/precept 

I am at present working as a Neonatal Consultant at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. I have over 18 years’ experience in paediatrics, and have completed five years of training in the UK which was mainly in neonatal intensive care.

Since the Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN) were first established in 2013, excellent progress has been made to achieve our collective goal to improve health and generate economic growth across the country.

In the East Midlands, we’re proud to have developed long and lasting relationships with our local health and care partners. We have worked with these partners to deliver programmes and innovations which answer national health and care priorities. In addition, we have collaborated with them to develop potential new programmes that fit with local health and care challenges through our Innovation Exchange process. We have also worked with numerous of commercial and NHS innovators and supported them to test, develop and spread their innovative health and care solutions within the system, using our unique position to bridge the gap between industry and the NHS.

I’ve had an absolutely fantastic time at the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN). As a relatively small organisation, currently employing just over 40 people – I am immensely proud of the impact we have in improving patient’s lives. Our success is built on the strong collaborative working relationships we have across the NHS, academia, social care, voluntary sector and industry as well as the synergies we derive from working in the ‘connected network of networks’ formed by the 15 Academic Health Science Networks across the country.