Innovation funding boost for NHS

Greater efforts to promote a culture of innovation in clinical practice and management are required if the NHS is to maintain its position as one of the world’s leading health systems, the NHS Confederation has warned. In a new report, Leading Innovation, the organisation called for the health service to examine new practices and technologies to save money, drive efficiency and improve the quality of care for patients.1 It added that excessive bureaucracy can act as a barrier to innovation and a lack of access to innovation budgets can also mean good ideas struggle to get the funding they need. A number of clinicians and managers who have been involved in attempts to introduce innovation within their organisations were interviewed for the report, in addition to academics specialising in the subject of innovation in the NHS. Many of those interviewed said that the existence of a robust evidence base did not always guarantee the implementation of a technology or practice. Clinicians and managers said in a number of cases where pilots took place, they were often too small in scale or too narrow in focus to be effective and those that were piloted on too wide a scale suffered from the same problem. The report found many clinicians with innovative ideas faced opposition from colleagues and in some cases senior clinicians were uncomfortable with junior colleagues possessing a greater awareness of innovations and change. Steve Barnett, chief executive of the NHS Confederation and member of the National Leadership Council said: “The NHS historically has a poor reputation in promoting innovation in clinical practice and management. There is a responsibility among all NHS leaders, including commissioners and providers, to address the slow uptake of proven technologies and ideas and to look at how we can be putting the best practices for patients in place. There is a need to change NHS culture so that there is more of an incentive to say yes rather than no when it comes to looking at new ways of doing things.” Nigel Edwards, director of policy at the NHS Confederation said the current economic climate will put a major focus on delivering efficiency and innovation will play a central role in delivering savings: “Those NHS organisations unable to create a culture of continuous redesign and challenge to existing practice will struggle in the coming years as the health system is faced with making efficiency gains. “There is a general consensus among those people interviewed for this report that there is a need to encourage a greater culture of innovation in the NHS. By simplifying the process of proposing ideas and removing the red tape currently in place the NHS can fully utilise the creative talents of its staff.”

Extra funding

The report coincided with an announcement by health minister, Lord Darzi, that a £220 million fund will be made available to encourage innovation within the NHS. He revealed the Government’s plans at an event at the Science Museum in London held to mark the launch of “Innovation for a Healthier Future”, a series of initiatives to nurture and reward innovation within the NHS. Building on the Government’s firm commitment to create an innovative health service, England’s ten Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) will each receive £2 million this year, and £5 million in each of the following four years to support frontline NHS staff in developing innovative ideas. The cash will be invested directly into a combination of projects on the ground and at regional level, speeding up the time it takes for innovative solutions to get from design bench to NHS bedside. This will benefit patients directly and increase the quality of the care they receive. Many innovative ideas in the NHS risk not being developed due to a lack of funding. The fund has been made available to help bring these ideas about and empower the inspiration of the 1.3 million NHS staff and their colleagues in social care who make a difference each day to people’s lives. Lord Darzi said: “This announcement is a huge step forward in implementing the recommendations set out last summer in my strategy on the future of the NHS. NHS staff have told me that accessing the funds to make ideas become reality can be a struggle and as a result, many great ideas never get realised. That is why I am delighted to announce that we now have a £220 million innovation fund available to get those ideas off the bench and to patient bedsides, day centres or GP surgeries. “We know that around 40% of the world’s inventions over the past 50 years originated in the UK and that the NHS is rightly recognised as a world leader in the development of innovative treatments and technologies – but we can be better at putting those good ideas into action and these funds will help do exactly that.” The Government has also announced that alongside this funding, it has put in place a support structure on innovation for Strategic Health Authorities, with NESTA (the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts) and the Young Foundation acting as advisers to SHAs in bringing about a culture of innovation. The two bodies have a track record in nurturing and supporting innovation and assisting organisations to turn ideas into improvements. Speaking about their support to the NHS, Jonathan Kestenbaum NESTA chief executive said: “The pressures on delivering high quality healthcare have never been greater. Yesterday’s solutions to tomorrow’s problems will not work. The SHA Innovation Fund will ensure that fresh ideas and radical thinking by frontline staff can be delivered across the NHS.”