Health and Wealth in Northern Ireland: Capitalising on the Opportunities

Northern Ireland Confederation for Health and Social Care (NICON) and NHS Confederation – October 2022

An independent report on the development of a world-class ecosystem for health and care innovation, adoption and spread in Northern Ireland.

This report therefore sets out how, with the right collective leadership, strategy, investment and clear metrics, we can align to coordinate health innovation and transform outcomes. In short, we have the potential to move from “good in parts” to “a highly innovative system” to ensure we can deliver for our citizens and play a leading role, alongside other world-class systems.

Full Report – Health and Wealth in Northern Ireland: Capitalising on the Opportunities

Integration and innovation in action: population health

How health and care organisations are working in new and different ways to create healthier communities | NHS Confederation

This report shows how health and care systems are connecting people, place and power structures to establish partnerships that are sharing power and decision-making – creating healthier, resilient and empowered communities. It spotlights some of these examples, demonstrating how health and care organisations are working in new and different ways to improve population health. It concludes that local health and care systems need to reset their focus to cultivate the conditions for health creation through asset-based community health development.

Full detail: Integration and innovation in action: population health

HEE: New AHPs’ Research and Innovation Strategy

Health Education England | 26 January 2022 | Allied Health Professions’ Research and Innovation Strategy for England

Health Education England (HEE) has this morning launched a new strategy to support allied health professionals undertaking research (AHPs).

The Allied Health Professions’ Research and Innovation Strategy for England outlines a  bold vision to support and accelerate the existing research and innovation strategies; but will specifically will provide a framework to drive and accelerate the pace of transformational impact for AHPs’ research and innovation, specifically for enhanced visibility, reputation, influence and impact on services.

.

Image shows the 14 different allied health associations on the front cover of the strategy

The scope of the Strategy addresses four domains.

• Capacity and engagement of the AHP workforce community, to implement research and
  innovation in practice;
• Capability for individuals to undertake and achieve excellence in research and
  innovation activities, roles, careers and leadership;
• Context for AHPs to have equitable access to sustainable support, infrastructures and
  investment for research and innovation;
• Culture for AHP perceptions and expectations of professional identities and roles that “research is everybody’s business”.

(Source: HEE)

There are a number of case studies available from HEE

HEE Allied Health Professions’ Research and Innovation Strategy for England [press release]

See also: CSP New AHP Research and Innovation Strategy

Innovation and new technology to help reduce NHS waiting lists

via Department of Health & Social Care

Surgical hubs, new technology to speed up diagnosis, and innovative ways of working will help the NHS to tackle growing waiting lists and treat around 30% more patients who need elective care by 2023 to 2024. Backed by a new £36 billion investment in health and social care over the next 3 years, ‘doing things differently’ and embracing innovation will be the driving force to get the NHS back on track.

The funding will see the NHS deliver an extra 9 million checks, scans and operations for patients across the country. The NHS has been trialling a range of new ways of working in 12 areas, backed by £160 million, to accelerate the recovery of services.

This includes setting up pop-up clinics so patients can be treated quickly, in person, and discharged closer to home, as well as virtual wards and home assessments to allow patients to receive medical support from the comfort of their home, freeing up beds in hospitals.

GP surgeries are using artificial intelligence to help prioritise patients most in need and identify the right level of care and support needed for patients on waiting lists.

Full detail: Innovation and new technology to help reduce NHS waiting lists

COVID-19 shared learning from NHS trusts #Covid19RftLks

NHS Employers | September 2021 | COVID-19 shared learning from NHS trusts

In these case studies NHS Employers provides case study examples of shared learning illustrating how NHS trusts have adapted and innovated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Case studies include:

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust: investing in technology to bolster staff engagement

North East London NHS Foundation Trust: bespoke support for line managers

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust: reaching staff through good communication

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals: building a symbol of gratitude

East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust: supporting BME colleagues through the pandemic

Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust: supporting staff to work from home

COVID-19 shared learning from NHS trusts

New blood test could help doctors identify viral infections more easily

University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre | 18 August 2021 | New blood test could help doctors identify viral infections more easily

Researchers at Imperial College and University College London Hospitals have developed an innovative test which could help doctors identify more rapidly the type of infection that a patient presents with in A&E. The experts have identified three specific genes which signal the presence of a virus because they are triggered when a virus infects the body. This will enable physicians to personalise the patient’s treatment more effectively, administer specific tests to identify the type of virus, and avoid prescribing antibiotics for patients who will not benefit from them.

The new test uses a blood sample to measure levels of the three genes and the pattern tells doctors if the patient has a viral infection. This development also has implications for pandemics as the the authors underline that their study provides a unique snapshot of gene expression in a large cohort of well phenotyped adults at the point of admission to an emergency department with suspected sepsis. A simple three-gene PCR signature was derived, which has superior ability to differentiate viral from other infection presentations compared with existing biomarkers, such as C-reactive protein and leukocyte count. The signature was validated on a prospective cohort of real-world emergency infectious disease admissions. The signature was further validated on PCR-positive COVID-19 admissions to the emergency department, a group where RT-qPCR testing via nasopharyngeal sampling alone can be inaccurate. To the authors’ knowledge, this analysis represents the first host gene signature to be validated for COVID-19, providing proof of principle that point-of-care gene expression-based diagnostics can support decision making in acute and ambulatory emergency settings.

The new test uses a blood sample to measure levels of the three genes and the pattern tells doctors if the patient has a viral infection. This will allow them to tailor the patient’s treatment more effectively, administer specific tests to identify the type of virus, and avoid prescribing antibiotics for patients who will not benefit from them.

In a pandemic situation, it would also allow doctors to decide earlier which patients to isolate in side rooms and provide an early indication of how many patients might be infected, well before any specific test for a new virus is available (Source: University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre & Kwong Li et al, 2021).

Adapted from this press release New blood test could help doctors identify viral infections more easily

The primary paper has now been published inThe Lancet Microbe

NICE recommends adoption of absorbable stitches with antibacterial protection for use on the NHS

 NICE |  June 2021 | NICE recommends adoption of absorbable stitches with antibacterial protection for use on the NHS

NICE estimates an average cost saving of £13.62 per patient to the NHS as a result of reduced surgical site infections compared with current standard absorbable stitches.

NICE has recently issued Medical Technologies Guidance which recommends the adoption of Plus Sutures, the first absorbable stitches with antibacterial protection.

Until now the NHS has used standard absorbable stitches for wound closure after a surgical procedure.

Plus Sutures developed by Ethicon, part of Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies, are marketed as the first and only stitches with antibacterial protection.

Plus Sutures is a range of synthetic, absorbable stitches that are either impregnated with or coated with triclosan, a purified medical grade antimicrobial, depending on the type of stitch being used. Absorbable stitches are absorbed by tissue over a period of time and do not need to be removed.

Adopting Plus Sutures would not alter the current care pathway or need any additional training. The technology is already used extensively within the NHS.

Full details are available from NICE

New data strategy launched to improve patient care and save lives

Department of Health and Social Care and The Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP | 20 June 2021 | New data strategy launched to improve patient care and save lives

The Department of Health and Social Care and The Rt Hon Matt Hancock have announced a new data strategy that will benefit patients, researchers and healthcare staff. The new strategy will be published next week for stakeholder and public consultation.

The announcement highlights how during the last 18 months, data has saved lives and helped ensure the NHS could provide better care to people suffering from COVID-19 and other health issues. This ensured doctors and nurses could deliver innovative support in the most effective and efficient way.By empowering frontline staff to share data for patient care in a secure way that preserves privacy, ground-breaking clinical trials were approved in record time. New services to care for people in their own homes were set up via remote digital monitoring, avoiding lengthy hospital stays.

This enabled rapid research into COVID-19 treatments such as dexamethasone, which has saved over a million lives across the world. By rapidly speeding up the process to grant approvals for trials to get underway – which previously would have taken around 100 days – and giving researchers access to data in a safe and secure way, this world-leading trial led to the discovery of the first proven treatment to reduce coronavirus mortality (Source: Department of Health and Social Care).

• NHS patient data enabled world-first COVID-19 treatment saving one million lives
• Draft strategy to set out new patient rights to access their health records

New data strategy launched to improve patient care and save lives

Leadership and innovation during Covid-19: lessons from the Cardiff and Vale Health System #covid19rftlks

The Kings Fund

Early in the Covid-19 pandemic, clinicians at the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board realised that they would have to make rapid changes to prevent the widespread cancellation of elective surgery. A core team of staff started meeting in a lecture theatre every morning and evening to work on the redesign. They fell into a particular ‘battle routine’: identifying problems in the morning, coming up with solutions by lunchtime and presenting the proposals back to colleagues in the evening. 

Full detail: Leadership and innovation during Covid-19: lessons from the Cardiff and Vale Health System

10 practical lessons for implementing digital innovations

Nuffield Trust | May 2021 | 10 practical lessons for implementing digital innovations – learning from the Care City test bed

This summary outlines 10 key lessons for the implementation, adoption, and spread of digital innovations in health and social care services. The lessons are designed to support those working to integrate technology into health and social care services, such as policy makers, commissioners, innovators and service providers to successfully embed innovations into care pathways. It is based on a large-scale evaluation of digital technologies being implemented in health and social care in East London.

The lessons are:

The 10 key lessons

1. Dedicate sufficient time and resource to engage with end users
2. Co-design or co-production with end users is an essential tool when implementing technology
3. Identify the need and its wider impact on the system, not a need for a technology
4. Explore the motivators and barriers that might influence user uptake of an innovation
5. Ignore information governance requirements at your peril
6. Don’t be afraid to tailor the innovation along the journey
7. Ensure adequate training is built in for services using the technology
8. Embedding the innovation is only half the journey – ongoing data collection and analysis is key
9. Ensure there is sufficient resource, capacity and project management support to facilitate roll-out
10. Recognise that variation across local areas exists and adapt the implementation accordingly

Further resources such as slide sets detailing key findings and background from each of the tools and technologies being evaluated and a full evaluation report that brings together findings from this large-scale mixed-methods evaluation are available from the Nuffield Trust.