NHS patients across the country will get accelerated access to cutting edge technology through a new digital system that will cut red tape and boost life science.
The new ‘innovator passport’ - to be introduced over the next 2 years - will allow new technology that has been robustly assessed by one NHS organisation to be easily rolled out to others.
The move is a key part of the government’s Plan for Change and its 10 Year Health Plan, which aims to transfer power to patients and transform how healthcare is delivered, creating an NHS fit for the future.
The Government stated that, for too long, cutting-edge businesses have avoided working with the NHS and have gone elsewhere, weighed down by slow timelines and reams of processes. It claims that organisations will now be able to join up with the NHS quicker through "the removal of needless bureaucracy". A ‘one-stop shop’ thorough check from the NHS will now allow businesses to get to work as quickly as possible.
Treatments including special wound dressings - already reducing surgical site infections by 38% at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals - could be adopted more widely, benefiting patients across the country.
At Barts Health NHS Trust in London, use of antimicrobial protective coverings for cardiac devices has cut infections and saved over £103,000 per year. At University Hospitals Dorset, adopting rapid influenza testing reduced bed days and antibiotic use, freeing up vital resources.
The new passport will eliminate multiple compliance assessments, reducing duplication across the health service. It will be delivered through MedTech Compass, a digital platform developed by DHSC to make effective technologies more visible and widely available.
MedTech Compass will make these innovations and the evidence underpinning them clear to buyers within the NHS.
Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, said: "For too long, Britain’s leading scientific minds have been held back by needless admin that means suppliers are repeatedly asked for the same data in different formats by different trusts - this is bad for the NHS, patients and bad for business. These innovator passports will save time and reduce duplication, meaning our life sciences sector - a central part of our 10 Year Health Plan - can work hand in hand with the health service and make Britain a powerhouse for medical technology.
"Frustrated patients will no longer have to face a postcode lottery for lifesaving products to be introduced in their area, and companies will be able to get their technology used across the NHS more easily, creating a health service fit for future under the Plan for Change."
Dr Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director at NHS England, said: "We’re seeing the impact improvements to technology are having on our everyday lives on everything from smartwatches to fitness trackers - and we want to make sure NHS patients can benefit from the latest medical technology and innovations as well. The new innovator passports will speed up the roll-out of new health technology in the NHS which has been proven to be effective, so that patients can benefit from new treatments much sooner."
