Member Article

NHS seeks new technology to beat hospital bugs

North East businesses which have products or technologies that could help prevent the spread of MRSA or similar infections are being asked to come forward to take part in a new NHS programme.

The NHS is seeking the most effective new solutions from across all industry sectors to help in the fight against healthcare associated infections (HCAIs). The Smart Solutions for HCAI programme offers businesses the chance to have their product assessed by a team of independent experts, with a view to evaluating it in a hospital setting and potentially supplying it across the NHS.

The NHS is investing significant sums in improving infection prevention and control. While the basic ways of reducing HCAIs are largely unchanged, new technologies and equipment could help to meet these goals more quickly.

The Smart Solutions programme – www.smartsolutionsforhcai.co.uk – aims to identify new technologies generated by businesses in healthcare or other commercial sectors that are not currently in use, or have not been widely adopted, within the NHS.

The programme is open to businesses or other non-NHS organisations of any size, from any sector.

Project director Bryan Griffiths said: “Our aim is to find the most effective new solutions to control HCAIs and we are keeping an open mind as to where these could come from. Whether it is a product from a medical company, something developed for a completely different purpose or even an idea from an entrepreneurial inventor working in their spare room; we will assess its potential.

“The Smart Solutions programme is an opportunity for companies to have their products tested for use within the NHS, and potentially offers a ‘fast track’ route to becoming a supplier to hospitals and healthcare organisations across the UK.”

Applications can be submitted online via the website on or before 26 September 2008.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .