The Health Innovation Network, at an event sponsored by Sarah Coombes MP, brought together parliamentarians including Health Minister Karin Smyth MP and Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Chi Onwurah MP to meet with six innovators supported by health innovation networks across the country and their NHS partners. At the Meet the Innovators: The Engine of Health and Growth parliamentary reception, MPs and Lords were able to take part in demonstrations, carry out health checks and discover more about the importance of innovation in tackling the NHS’s most pressing challenges, such as reducing waiting lists, tackling health inequalities and improving the update of medicines, whilst driving economic growth.
Karin Smyth, MP, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, (pictured demonstrating Tortus’ AI technology) said: “Meeting with and hearing from innovators from across the country has been so inspiring.
“Health innovation is vital to helping the Government deliver on our core missions of developing sustained economic growth and building an NHS that is fit for the future. With so many programmes delivering real results for patients, the Health Innovation Network is improving patient outcomes while also driving regional and national growth.”
The reception in parliament showcased six innovators who are currently supported by the Health Innovation Network across the country to deliver local change within the NHS, improving patient outcomes, increasing workforce capacity and driving economic growth.
TORTUS AI is an ambient voice AI assistant that has been trialled across London and is now scaling up nationally.
C The Signs has been used across 45 percent of GP practices in England, with over 100,000 risk assessments undertaken, leading to 7,000 earlier cancer diagnoses.
PocDoc Healthy Heart Check is an easy-to-use home test kit aiming to improve the quality of cardiovascular disease testing, enabling 30 percent of patients to be referred straight to their GP, while helping GPs to prioritise patients with the greatest cholesterol management needs.
Through a national programme, Focus ADHD, QbTech’s innovative ADHD assessment has helped tackle NHS waiting list challenges and supported over 70,000 young people during the pilot.
C2AI’s platform interrogates hospital data systems to facilitate better patient prioritisation triage. Implementation in Cheshire and Merseyside yielded a 66 percent reduction in the need for ICS in high-risk patients, and 27 percent reduction in ‘long waiters’ within six weeks.
Pinpoint is an AI technology that uses a simple blood test to triage patients with symptoms to help clinicians reduce patient anxiety and time to diagnosis, helping to prioritise patients at highest risk. Current early-stage implementations have tested over 11,000 patients across breast, lower GI, urology and skin cancers in the Yorkshire & Humber region.
The health and life sciences sector offers a huge opportunity for driving economic growth. Since 2018, Health Innovation Network’s support to innovators has contributed £2.6bn to the UK economy, have safeguarded or created over 10,000 jobs and for every £1 invested in the Network, there is a £2.81 return.
Sarah Coombes MP for West Bromwich, (pictured right in the photo), said: “Meeting with and hearing from innovators from across the country has been so inspiring. With so many programmes delivering real results for patients showing, not only how Health Innovation Network are positively impacting health outcomes but also driving regional and national growth. They are truly the engine of both health and growth in the UK.”
Innovators used the reception as an opportunity to urge the Government to take action to ensure innovation is at the heart of reforms to the healthcare system by:
– Ensuring a national focus on the implementation of innovations within the health and social care sector, including creating the right environment where innovation can more easily be delivered.
– Defining multi-year health innovation priorities within the 10-year plan
Richard Stubbs, Chair, Health Innovation Network, said: “Working closely with MPs and policymakers enables us in our role of delivering local change faster and more widespread, considering how we can scale up what has been shown to work locally to enable all patients to benefit across the country and supporting a thriving life sciences sector with a growing economy.
“We are proud that, every year, our programmes release more than 100,000 hours of NHS staff time, increasing productivity to help tackle waiting times and get through the backlog.”
Bringing together innovators and MPs at this event, Health Innovation Network continues to demonstrate the vital role the network plays in making the UK a global powerhouse for health and life sciences.
For more information about your local health innovation network and the innovators showcased at this event see the event brochure.
View a selection of event photos below
The Health Innovation Network, at an event sponsored by Sarah Coombes MP, brought together parliamentarians including Health Minister Karin Smyth MP and Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Chi Onwurah MP to meet with six innovators supported by health innovation networks across the country and their NHS partners. At the Meet the Innovators: [...]
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