Catherine Haywood, head of marketing and communications at medi UK, advises on why putting innovation into action is key to unlocking the NHS' future mandate.
Post pandemic peak and the NHS remains under unrelenting strain. This, in turn, has placed greater onus on the key role innovation must play in enabling better patient outcomes, driving efficiencies and, ultimately, creating the healthcare system of the future. Coupled with this is the importance of greater collaboration between the medical field and industry, to bring new concepts to market, quicker and at scale.
Even though it appears that the worst of the pandemic might be behind us, the reality is that the NHS is still living through the greatest challenge it has ever faced.
According to recent data, 5.8 million people were on NHS waiting lists as of the end of September 2021, the highest number since records began in August 2007. The consensus from health leaders is that the system is at breaking point as COVID-19 backlogs take their toll.
The government’s response has been to set out a record £36 billion investment to reform the system over the next three years. Here, the remit is to ramp up the pace and scale of change and deliver a better service while alleviating pressure for overburdened staff in the biggest catch-up programme in the NHS' history.
However, it will be no easy feat. During the annual period of 2018/2019, there were an estimated 564 million patient contacts with GPs, hospitals, and the like – the equivalent to 1.5 million patient interactions every single day. Even for the world’s fifth largest employer, the sheer scale of the task – now even bigger– is extraordinary.
With this comes a sharpened focus not only on the medical practices themselves, but in the cultural shift towards innovation needed to achieve better patient outcomes.
Rethinking innovation
Innovation has been a mainstay of the NHS for some time. But it has been a notoriously complex process owing to the high level of regulation and bureaucracy involved.
However, a step change in the pace and scale of innovation adoption was observed throughout the pandemic. This was seen as NHS services took to conducting the majority of appointments online - something which would have previously been inconceivable. Of course, much of this innovation was brought about by necessity but it has left a legacy to think differently.
This is highlighted in the government’s Integration and Innovation white paper, where it asserts that greater collaborative working and innovation amongst all layers of healthcare will be critical to improving standards for local communities, individuals, and the nation.
Collaborate and commercialise
Here, at medi UK we believe that industry has a huge part to play in this too. After all, developing a product to such a high volume, to scale, all while ensuring commercial viability is no easy feat.
That’s why it’s so important for industry to work even more closely with medical practitioners - whose first-hand experience out in the field and different ways of thinking could play a huge role in fuelling future practice and helping deliver the NHS’ future mandate.
A great example of this can be found with our recent work with Dr Robert Lister, a dermatologist at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
With over two decades in the medical field, Dr Lister had recognised a worrying trend amongst patients, many elderly, failing to wear the compression garments required to manage vascular conditions and chronic oedema.
On closer investigation he found the issue to be the fact that the compressive nature of the garments used, coupled with a restrictive one-piece design, made them very difficult to put on or take off, especially for those who struggled to bend down or had dexterity issues.
Sadly, for many patients the result of failing to use these garments was that their underlying conditions had escalated - for some even, leading to a foul-smelling open wound – resulting in chronic pain, embarrassment, isolation, and a huge impact on their quality of life.
In response, Dr Lister decided to take matters into his own hands and invented a two-piece compression stocking system – an anklet and separate calf sleeve - which can be more simply manoeuvred over a patient’s foot and heel, thereby making application and removal much easier. But without any commercial experience he needed an expert partner to help make it happen.
This is where medi UK came in, working closely with Dr Lister throughout each development stage to provide the resources and expertise needed to take the concept to market.
The process was a complex one. It included an intensive development cycle, with specific prototypes developed at our German manufacturing plant which were subject to extensive feedback from a group of specialist nurses and patients. This was supported with internal research and product development expertise to ensure the exacting requirements of the design positioning and compression capability. Further stages included testing, various accreditations, and approvals, and more.
Just four years later and duomed soft 2easy has been fast-tracked to market, listed with the NHS and now available on prescription to over 90,000 patients across the country who suffer from these types of conditions.
The result of this compression stocking breakthrough is that medical practitioners are afforded a solution which patients are much more likely to use - thereby driving the earlier treatment of conditions before they escalate, ensuring better consistency and overall patient outcomes.
Importantly too, the launch has effectively raised awareness of one of the key issues surrounding poor wound healing rates. This comes as the National Wound Care Strategy (NWCS) programme seeks to drive improvements, with it estimated that as many as 2.8 million in the UK are now living with a chronic wound.
Building back better
As we all know, there are many challenges that must be overcome as we chart the course towards a healthcare system for the future. As demonstrated with our ongoing work with Dr Lister and the launch of the new duomed soft 2easy, the ability to bring new ideas and problem-solving concepts to market, will be a major force in overcoming many of these.
For the medical industry, the onus is on working in closer collaboration with clinicians and helping to nurture new innovation from those on the frontline. As we look to the future, we believe this joined-up approach will be key to unleashing the new era of innovation needed to improve patient outcomes and help the NHS build back better.
