The Health Minister Lord Darzi has announced a £220 million fund will be made available to encourage innovation within the NHS.
Speaking at an event at the Science Museum in London he marked the launch of 'Innovation for a Healthier Future', a series of initiatives to nurture and reward innovation within the NHS. Under the scheme 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, which the government says will speed up the time it takes for innovative solutions to get from design bench to NHS bedside. This, it says, will 'benefit patients directly and increase the quality of the care they receive'.
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 percent 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 a 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 true innovation culture.
In addition, Lord Darzi announced further details of the 'Innovation Challenge Prizes' which will engage with innovators globally and invite them to devise exciting new ways to address key health challenges.
A panel of experts will create a shortlist of possible challenges with the exact challenges announced later this year following a public engagement process. The Panel will be assisted in its work by Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind up radio.
Says Trevor Baylis, "Britain has an outstanding heritage in innovation, from the steam engine to the MRI scanner - we are a nation of innovators who are constantly looking for new, different and better ways of doing things. The Innovation Challenges Prizes are a fantastic opportunity to create and develop ideas that can genuinely change lives for the better.'
Alongside this new investment and support, England's Strategic Health Authorities will also be subject to a legal duty to promote innovation and support the diffusion of innovative technologies and solutions throughout the health service.
Richard Evans, SoR CEO, welcomed the news but reminded managers that the money is not new but has been promised for a while under the NHS Next Stage Review.
He welcomed the support for the development of new techniques, inventions and ideas in the NHS, saying: "Radiographers have a long tradition of bringing good ideas through to production of pieces of equipment, ways to convey information and innovative health promotion.The recent award of a Allied Health Professionals & Healthcare Scientists UK Awards 2009 to a radiographer invention is a good example."
What is not so clear, he suggested, is whether innovation in service design is likely to be eligible. "We know that this is another area where radiography is leading thinking and making change for the better.
"Either way, I hope that radiographers will be keen to submit bids for the innovation funding in their area."
