Blogs

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.

Earlier this month (7 February 2020) I had the pleasure of presenting our annual LPZ celebration event awards, which recognise the work of care home staff to improve the quality and standards in care homes across the East Midlands.

As the population continues to age and people live longer, the demand for care will undoubtedly increase. The Office for National Statistics predicts a 36% growth in persons aged 85+ between 2015 and 2025, from 1.5 million to 2 million. This is expected to lead to a substantial increase in demand for care home services (Care homes market study: summary of final report 2017).

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.

I’m absolutely delighted to write my first blog as the new Managing Director of the East Midlands AHSN!

Having worked in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries for the last 24 years, I understand the positive impact that appropriate solutions can have for the healthcare system and patient outcomes.

I’m looking forward to using my knowledge to help innovators navigate the healthcare system and work with NHS and health and social care providers to find solutions to some of their most pressing priorities.

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.