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Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

Innovation

Patients benefit enormously from research and innovation, with breakthroughs enabling prevention of ill-health, earlier diagnosis, more effective treatments, better outcomes and faster recovery.

 

The NHS Long Term Plan acknowledges the important of Research and Innovation for the UK Economy. To support the ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan, here at NGH, we are working with our University Partners and the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) to:

 

  • Implement the MedTech Funding Mandate.

  • Work in partnership with the EMAHSN to support SME’s in developing and implementing new products and solutions into the NHS.

  • Creating and commercialising our Intellectual Property Portfolio.

 

Research staff drawing liquid into a pipet

 

MedTech Funding Mandate

The MedTech Funding Mandate will support devices, diagnostics or digital products that:

  • are effective: demonstrated through positive NICE guidance;
  • deliver material savings to the NHS: the benefits of the innovation are over £1 million over five years for the population of England;
  • are cost-saving in-year: NICE modelling demonstrates a net saving in the first 12 months of implementing the technology;
  • are affordable to the NHS: the budget impact should not exceed £20 million, in any of the first three years.

We are working with the AHSN to adopt the products on the MedTech Funding mandate.

 

 

Working in Partnership with the EMAHSN

We are working with our local East Midlands Academic Health Science Network to identify products and services, matched to our clinical needs to accelerate adoption at scale and pace across our Hospital Group. 

 

 

CASE STUDY – Digital Outpatient Appointment Management

The Digital Outpatient Appointment Management Solution uses patient questionnaires and digital technology to reduce the number of unnecessary face to face outpatient follow-up appointments. This is intended to achieve a range of qualitative and quantitative benefits for patients and for the health economy.

The Solution has arisen from a programme established by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN) relating to transformation of care for long term conditions. This included three key workstreams, of which the Digital Outpatient Appointment Management Solution is one. The aim is to design a solution which will allow two-way communication between the Trust and patients using various digital media. This will also support digital outpatient triage and patient led follow-up.

We anticipate this will bring great benefits in terms of reduction in DNA and number of follow up appointments.

As well as supporting innovations coming into the hospital group, we are working with the EMAHSN to support our workforce in commercialising their ideas.

 

 

Commercialisation of our Intellectual Property Portfolio

We actively support our clinical entrepreneurs from idea generation to commercialising the product or service. This is in partnership with our University Partners and the EM ASHN. We can offer our Clinical Entrepreneurs:

  • IP Expert in Residence - Dr Jack Severs, European Patent Attorney, Gill Jennings & Every LLP.
  • Support to apply to the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme.
  • Access to the Innovate UK: Lean Launch Programme for early market discovery - delivery by Queens University Belfast and Helix Hub. 
  • Support to apply for further funding to support their innovation

 

 

NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme

To help make the NHS one of the most pro-innovation health systems in the world, programmes such as the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme support a wide range of innovations, including medicines, diagnostics, devices, digital products, pathway changes, and new workforce models to name a few.

The NHS has one of the largest workforces in the world, full of people who are closest to the real challenges faced by the healthcare service. The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme was established to allow individuals the opportunity to create solutions to these challenges, without having to leave the NHS.

 

 

Lean Launch Programme- delivered by Queens University Belfast and Helix Hub

Lean Launch is a game-changing 10 week online customer discovery programme that allows you to rapidly test whether there is a market for your idea, product or service from the comfort of your workplace/home.

This 10-week online market discovery programme is designed using lean start-up methodology. Lean start-up takes the scientific method (hypothesise, test, evaluate) and applies it to business ideas.

You will learn how to use this approach to test what your potential customers think about your idea, product or service.



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