Member Article

Public health professionals meet private sector to tackle North East patient care challenge

A significant North East conference has brought public health professionals together with private industry and innovation experts to instigate a collaborative network that can tackle patient care challenges across the region.

The ‘Co-innovation in healthcare: matching healthcare problems to solutions from business’ event provided the chance for regional businesses to come along and understand the demand and realities within the NHS, providing a platform to share information related to problems, practice, and products.

Together with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, Newcastle University Business School, the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC), RTC North and Handi, this event looked at the challenges within the current health care system.

Dr Rob Wilson of Newcastle University Business School said: “This was the first event, that I am aware of, that has brought together speakers and delegates from across the North East in the private sector, higher education and the NHS to focus on innovation in patient care.”

The event addressed concerns such as how to scale innovations to become products that the NHS would buy: what the problems are for which clinicians require innovative solutions, and how to sell innovations into NHS Trusts.

Professor Michael Whitaker, who is seconded to the innovation team of the North East LEP from his role as Professor of Physiology and Associate Dean of Innovation at Newcastle University, spoke about the importance of North East businesses engaging with the NHS.

He said that structural change in both universities and the health service means that behaviours are also changing and that innovation in all aspects of patient care, not just technology, is central to improving care quality.

He added that the North East LEP is working to find funding to finance innovation growth and its application to benefit partnerships between the private sector, higher education and the NHS.

Professor Michael Whitaker said: “The UK is witnessing one of the biggest reorganisations of NHS and social care for many years, and is now trying to plan the next steps, and how to improve delivery and care.

“The network of people that were at the event presents an exciting opportunity to address innovations to the system and engagement with the private sector.”

The Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC) chief executive, Dr Seamus O’Neill, introduced the new network in the North East and North Cumbria to the audience. Its two main aims are to improve health outcomes for patients and to improve wealth creation in the region.

Dr Nicola Wesley, director of Innovation and Wealth Creation at AHSN NENC, focused on the network’s support for smaller businesses and how, through open innovation SMEs can help create solutions to problems highlighted by frontline staff.

Other speakers included: Terry McStea, Design Network North, RTC North Ltd; Andrew Turner, Quality Hospital Solutions; Andrew Graney, Indigo Multimedia; Terry O’Neill, Knowledge Transfer Manager, HealthTech and Medicines KTN and Dr Michael Drinnan of the Medical Physics Department, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals.

Professor Whitaker also announced the launch of a new course, the Master of Research in Medical Technology Innovation, starting in autumn 2014.

This course has been created in collaboration between Newcastle University Business School and Newcastle University’s Faculty of Medical Sciences, which aims to train students to be confident innovators and solve real world health problems.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .