The NHS and social care in Cheshire could see the promise of a faster flow of innovations by the NHS Long Term Plan.
Gavin Trafford
Innovation Agency staff test for Atrial Fibrillation at Liverpool International Tennis Tournament. Craig Phillips and Michelle Rushton.
The region’s Innovation Agency and fellow Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) have been highlighted as key players in speeding up the adoption of innovations in the NHS.
In Cheshire, the Innovation Agency has provided funding and other support to introduce apps, technology, coaching and connections with national initiatives such as products available for free through the Innovation and Technology Payment.
An example in Cheshire is the CATCH app, supported by the Innovation Agency to be used by expectant and new parents to diagnose ailments and self-treat, avoiding unnecessary visits to A&E.
The AHSNs’ work to prevent strokes in people with atrial fibrillation (AF) was also given a boost in the Long Term Plan with the announcement of a package of activity to improve anticoagulation rates. Pharmacists and nurses in primary care networks will be supported to identify and treat people with high-risk conditions.
The Innovation Agency was the first AHSN to tackle atrial fibrillation and since 2014 has distributed over 600 portable pulse testing devices; carried out an estimated 20,000 pulse tests; and identified around 600 cases of AF, avoiding potential strokes. They are also working in GP practices to review AF cases and check patients are being given the most effective treatments.
Innovation Agency chief executive Dr Liz Mear said: “The Long Term Plan sets out a clear way forward for organisations like ourselves focussed on improving care, achieving efficiencies and empowering people to take control of their health and wellbeing.
“For us and other AHSNs, we see the plan as a green light to bring more organisations into the fast lane of innovation – in particular, spreading great technologies and other products rather than reinventing them in numerous places.
“There are fantastic innovations developed in our region which we are helping to spread – and likewise, we are introducing products to our partners which have evidence of impact in other parts of the country. We are the honest brokers in the landscape of healthcare innovation and I am delighted to see the acknowledgement of our role in the Long Term Plan.”
