Patients from throughout England are set to benefit from world-leading healthcare innovations developed in the East Midlands.

Following an international search, NHS England’s Medical Director Sir Bruce Keogh has today (Monday 6th July) revealed the 17 ‘fellows’ who will be part of the NHS National Innovation Accelerator programme.

The fellows have all developed world-leading health products, technologies and processes - including two developed in the East Midlands - that will now be rolled out at pace to theatres, hospitals and GP practices across the country, benefiting millions of people.

The fellows were selected from over 120 applications worldwide. To be successful they had to demonstrate that they are healthcare pioneers who have developed new ways of working that are improving the way patients are treated and cared for.

The innovations pioneered in the East Midlands are:

• Dr Neil Guha from the NIHR Nottingham Digestive Diseases Biomedical Research Unit has developed a novel diagnostic pathway with liver specialists in the East Midlands. It is based in the community and detects liver disease at a critical stage before the onset of life threatening symptoms. As a fellow, Neil could now benefit from financial backing and specialist mentoring from internationally renowned figures to scale the innovation and launch it nationally – ensuring learning from the East Midlands benefits many more patients around the country and helps generate efficiencies for the NHS.

• “It is an honour to be selected as one of the fellows,” said Dr Guha. “However, the critical benefit will be to provide funding and support to take something developed within Nottingham and spread it nationally so it can help to save lives and reduce the financial cost to the NHS. My ambition is to gain a greater understanding of how to implement genuine innovation within the NHS – at pace and scale.”

• Paul Volkaerts founded Nervecentre Software in 2010. In conjunction with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, the company pioneered a new software system to support effective communication between clinicians in busy acute hospitals.

• It provides staff with instant access to electronic information, reducing delays in patient care and saving money. Based on the success of the East Midlands pilot the initiative is now being spread around the country. As a fellow, Paul could now receive support and coaching to demonstrate the benefits that mobile task management systems can provide to hospitals throughout England.

The National Innovation Accelerator programme is supported by the country’s 15 Academic Health Science Networks, and led by UCLPartners and the Health Foundation.

Managing Director of the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network, Professor Rachel Munton, said: “Following a process open to healthcare pioneers world-wide, two of the 17 successful fellows developed their innovations within the East Midlands. This reinforces the incredible and pioneering work taking place throughout our region’s health system.

“Academic Health Science Networks were established to spread innovation, and we are delighted to be supporting these outstanding individuals, and their innovations. This programme is a significant opportunity for these inspirational fellows to further develop their innovative services, systems and process so they benefit patients nationwide.”

Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England’s National Medical Director said: “At its heart, innovation is the will to do 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 improvement by creating new conditions for ideas.”

Dr Mahiben Maruthappu, NHS England lead for the Innovation Accelerator programme, said: “Innovation is critical to enabling the NHS to achieve the ambitions set out in the Five Year Forward View: to ramp up the pace and scale of change, and deliver better outcomes for patients. We are delighted to be able to offer individuals with a proven track record in healthcare development, a personalised package of support to help spread their state-of-the-art, cost-effective solutions to every corner of the health service.”

Notes to Editors:

About Dr Neil Guha

• Neil is Clinical Associate Professor in Hepatology at the University of Nottingham and Consultant Hepatologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Based in the NIHR Nottingham Digestive Disease Biomedical Research Unit, he is leading the ‘Scarred Liver’ project, which seeks to detect chronic liver disease at a critical stage when it can be reversed. With funding from the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network the pathway is being rolled out in the East Midlands following a successful pilot in Nottingham. It combines identification of patients at risk of chronic liver disease and diagnostic tests to detect signs of the disease.

About Paul Volkaerts

• Paul is founder and Chief Executive Officer of Nervecentre Software. The company provides a whole hospital platform delivering electronic observations, handover, task management and clinical assessments. Paul applied to the National Innovation Accelerator programme because he wants to drive significant patient safety and efficiency benefits across hospitals; essential to achieving a sustainable NHS.

About the National Innovation Accelerator Programme

• The programme supports innovations including products (devices, pharmaceuticals, bioinformatics and healthcare applications), processes (redesign of patient pathways and workforce models) as well as organisational changes such as new models of delivering care.

• Co-hosts UCLPartners and The Health Foundation will deliver the programme. Academic Health Science Networks will provide support, training and networking opportunities. The fellows will have access to world-class mentors including Lord Ajay Kakkar, Lord Ara Darzi, Sir John Burn and Sir Sam Everington. To bring global learning to the NHS, the programme is supported by the International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery (IPIHD), a collaboration including the World Economic Forum and Professor Victor Dzau, President of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

About the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN):

• EMAHSN is one of 15 Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) in England, licensed by NHS England. EMAHSN works to bring together the NHS, universities, industry and social care to transform the health of the region’s 4.5M population and stimulate wealth creation.

About the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR):

• The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. The NIHR plays a key role in the Government’s strategy for economic growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its world-class infrastructure for health research. Together, the NIHR people, programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated health research system in the world. For further information, visit the NIHR website (www.nihr.ac.uk).

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