Innovation Agency

The way primary care services are delivered is changing, with different specialists on hand via GP practices and with a growing number of diagnostic tests, screening and treatments available in community pharmacies.   We explore what’s in store for primary care in Cheshire and Merseyside after the launch of a new strategic framework which offers a timeline of actions at both local and system level. Dr Jonathan Griffiths, Associate Medical Director for Primary Care at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, and Adam Irvine, Primary Care Partner Member (Pharmacy) at NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, are in conversation with Dr Phil Jennings, Chief Executive of Health Innovation North West Coast.  Greg Stringer introduces the conversation. Useful links: The first two chapters of the Primary Care Strategic Framework are here: https://www.cheshireandmerseyside.nhs.uk/about/cheshire-and-merseyside-health-and-care-partnership/ The NHS Primary Care Access Recovery Plan is here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/delivery-

For anyone involved in an emergency or needing urgent treatment, the experience can be scary and prolonged. For those who have cancer, the prospect is far more daunting.  In Cheshire and Merseyside, health leaders have collaborated to create pathways and processes which ensure that cancer patients can avoid visits to A&E and potentially long stays in hospital awaiting decisions and treatment.  We hear how they created a model which is now being held up as an exemplar nationally.  Caroline Kenyon is in conversation with Dr Ernie Marshall, consultant medical oncologist at The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust; Dr Ragit Varia, acute medical lead for the urgent cancer care programme based at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and Mel Warwick, programme lead.  Useful links NHS Providers case study: https://nhsproviders.org/providers-deliver-trusts-in-systems/the-clatterbridge-cancer-centre-nhs-foundation-trust  The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust: h

Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE talks about the passions and experiences which have shaped his leadership, as he prepares to step down after ten years as Chair of the Innovation Agency. A former researcher and author on race relations; Liverpool City Council Labour leader; chair of Liverpool Primary Care Trust; and champion of the natural environment, Gideon recalls pivotal moments in his career – and in the history of his home city.  CLANG: Connect, keep Learning, Be Active, Take Notice and Give – devised by Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE.

Changes to the way diagnostic tests and screening are carried out in Cheshire and Merseyside mean many more tests are being carried out in more centres around the region.  A system-wide transformation programme has streamlined processes and introduced a new, flexible staffing system, while improving access to tests for patients.  Guests Liz Bishop and Dr Ash Bassi explain how the transformation is being carried out, in conversation with Caroline Kenyon. Liz is Chief Executive of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust and lead for the Cheshire and Merseyside Diagnostic Transformation Programme; and Senior Responsible Officer for Cancer in Cheshire and Merseyside.    Ash is a consultant gastroenterologist at St Helens and Knowsley NHS Foundation Trust; Clinical Lead for the Cheshire and Merseyside Endoscopy Network; and North West Transformation Lead for Endoscopy. Diagnostics - NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Cheshire and Merseyside leading the way to improved diagnostic testing - NHS Cheshire a

An entrepreneurial doctor whose company is backed by the Innovation Agency, has become an Innovation Fellow with the NHS Innovation Accelerator. Dr Michael Watts has helped to create a patient-centred, emergency-support software system designed to improve safety in maternity - Emergency Role Allocation (ERA). ERA was the brainchild of midwife Caroline Lacey, of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Michael is one of 17 new Innovation Fellows, selected to help spread cutting-edge solutions with the potential to transform healthcare. In this podcast, Michael and Caroline tell us how the innovation came about – and the potential for the system to improve the safety of patients in a range of settings.   News story: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/news/Medic-backed-by-Innovation-Agency-joins-NHS-innovation-accelerator NHS Innovation Accelerator: https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/ Blum Health: https://blumtechgroup.com/ NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme: https://www.england.nhs.uk/aac/what-we-do/how-can-the-aac-h

This episode explores innovations in cardiovascular disease management being delivered to patients in primary care. In particular, the conversation focusses on lipids management and the introduction of a new treatment pathway which includes novel therapies. Innovation Agency chief executive Dr Phil Jennings talks to Dr Jim Moore, GP and president of the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society. To find out more about the Innovation Agency’s work in CVD, visit: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/lipids-and-cholesterol-management Visit the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society website: www.pccsuk.org  The Innovation Agency is part of the AHSN Network: https://www.ahsnnetwork.com/

The Innovation Agency is working with NHS Cheshire and Merseyside to help people at increased risk because of the combination of suffering a respiratory or cardiovascular condition and living in a cold home. It’s part of NHS England’s Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme (InHIP) which seeks to address local healthcare inequalities experienced by deprived and other under-served populations. We hear from Professor Rowan Pritchard-Jones, Executive Medical Director of NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, about how joining up data from different systems can enable health professionals to pinpoint individuals at increased need of help. If you are interested in finding out more, please email Rhiannon.Clarke@innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk or info@innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk. 

The family of a 29 year old Cheshire man who died suddenly from heart failure have been diagnosed with a genetic condition which causes abnormally high levels of cholesterol. The condition is familial hypercholesterolaemia, or FH; and the family of the late Mike Clarke have now been tested for FH at a new screening service for Cheshire and Merseyside.  In this podcast we hear from Mike’s brother Simon and three people behind the new testing service, clinical lead Consultant Chemical Pathologist Dr Shirley Bowles; Consultant Chemical Pathologist Dr David Oleesky; and FH service specialist nurse Julia Finch. They’re in conversation with Caroline Kenyon. A fundraising page has been set up by Katie Bridge, Mike Clarke’s sister, in aid of Cardiac Risk in the Young: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/katie-bridges2 Find out more about the Innovation Agency's work on lipids and cholesterol management on the website: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/lipids-and-cholesterol-management

A significant number of people across the North West Coast are unaware that they have high blood pressure. And during the pandemic, the British Heart Foundation reported that nearly half a million people in the UK missed out on starting medication to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. In this podcast, Dr Andy Knox, a GP in Lancashire and Cumbria who is also the area's associate medical director for population health; and the Innovation Agency's CVD prevention programme lead Dr Julia Reynolds tell Nigel Thompson how they hope to turn the tide by identifying more people with high blood pressure - many of whom are blissfully unaware they may have it. 

Asthma presents a continuing challenge across primary care and research has shown that despite best efforts the numbers of patients who require optimisation and access to advanced therapies remains high. The Liverpool Severe Asthma Service (LSAS), which covers Cheshire and Merseyside, has been accelerating access to specialist care for asthma patients through innovative pathway transformation work. A campaign is now underway to encourage early referral to specialist asthma services, for patients at risk of having severe asthma. In this podcast, we hear from asthma specialists and a patient about the impact of the transformed pathway. 

The Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) sets out a new NHS approach to developing and maintaining effective systems and processes for responding to patient safety incidents, for the purpose of learning and improving patient safety. In the north west, a collaboration involving NHS England, Aqua, Health Innovation Manchester and the Innovation Agency is helping organisations to implement the framework by offering information, guidance and coaching.  This podcast was recorded at St Helens Rugby Stadium in December 2022 at the second of four learning sessions arranged by the collaborative. Featuring the views of speakers and delegates, the podcast offers a snapshot of how the framework is being shared and received across the region.

Helping establish productive links between businesses and health and social care to benefit patients is just one of the roles of the Innovation Agency's Enterprise and Growth team. At this autumn's Healthcare Excellence Through Technology conference in London, a number of businesses who have capitalised on close ties with the team exhibited their work. In this edition of the Innovation Agency podcast Nigel Thompson met some of them and heard more about how the Enterprise and Growth team helps to bridge the gap between health and businesses.

One of the keynote speakers at the Innovation Agency Bridging the Gap event was Lindsey Hughes, Director of Research and Engagement in the Innovation, Research and Life Sciences Group and Accelerated Access Collaborative at NHS England.  Bridging the Gap was one of a series of events held by different AHSNs around the country and featured workshops and presentations aimed at supporting businesses and clinical entrepreneurs to progress or spread their innovations.   View a gallery of photos, videos and slides from the event: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/events/Bridging-the-Gap-Conference

Healthcare innovators and NHS leaders were brought together at the Innovation Agency’s Bridging the Gap event in Liverpool.  The event was one of a series of events held by different AHSNs around the country and featured workshops and presentations aimed at supporting businesses and clinical entrepreneurs to progress or spread their innovations.   This series of presentation podcasts starts with a scene-setting overview of how AHSNs are helping to bridge the innovation gap; from the Innovation Agency’s Chief Executive Dr Phil Jennings and Mike Kenny, Co-Director of Enterprise and Growth.  View a gallery of photos, videos and slides from the event: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/events/Bridging-the-Gap-Conference

An innovator who started building a prototype in a bedroom and went on to build a med tech company now exporting worldwide, told his story at the Bridging the Gap event in Liverpool.  Jordan Van Flute of Inovus Medical shared his experiences and lessons learned along the way, to inspire innovators attending the conference. View a gallery of photos, videos and slides from the event:  https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/events/Bridging-the-Gap-Conference

Delegates to the Bridging the Gap event heard how the University of Central Lancashire is playing a major role in supporting innovation in the North West Coast. Professor StJohn Crean, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, who is an honorary consultant in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, was a keynote speaker at the conference. View a gallery of photos, videos and slides from the event: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/events/Bridging-the-Gap-Conference

Realising the benefits of remote monitoring Identifying the benefits of using technology to monitor care outside hospital is vital in securing support and investment for spreading its use. This includes benefits to patients and carers and benefits to staff and health and care budgets.  This presentation at the Bridging the Gap event offered insights into how a multiagency approach and system support is helping to scale up technology-enabled care in the North West Coast. The speakers were Janet King, Regional Director of Digital Transformation at NHS England; Casey Black, Data Analyst at the Innovation Agency; and Tony Woods, Director of Ops and Digital at the Innovation Agency. Bridging the Gap was one of a series of events held by different AHSNs around the country and featured workshops and presentations aimed at supporting businesses and clinical entrepreneurs to progress or spread their innovations.   View a gallery of photos, videos and slides from the event: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/event

The Bridging the Gap conference heard from successful clinician and entrepreneur, Dr Mark Ratnarajah, who shared his story of combining his work as a paediatrician with building businesses. He is managing director of C2-Ai, a system which is recognised as providing best practice in waiting list and referral management by the NHS Getting It Right First Time programme. View a gallery of photos, videos and slides from the event: https://www.innovationagencynwc.nhs.uk/events/Bridging-the-Gap-Conference

Efforts to tackle the lasting effects of the pandemic were considered by delegates at the Healthcare Excellence Through Technology event held at the Excel Centre in London. Dr Phil Jennings, Chief Executive of the Innovation Agency, chaired a discussion to consider what support can be offered to reduce the backlog of operations. His guests included Alison Johnson, Director of Programmes with ORCHA, Pip Hodgson, Head of National Digital Product, NHS England Transformation Directorate, Sarah Dougan former Director of Population Health Intelligence North Central London and now an independent consulant and Tara Scott-Sowter, Director of Customer Success Induction Healthcare.

Clinicians in primary and secondary care in Cheshire and Merseyside have signed up to a new protocol setting out principles to guide how they will interact with each other. The guide is aimed at improving communications between staff in hospitals and GP surgeries, for the benefit of patients.  Innovation Agency Chief Executive and GP Dr Phil Jennings finds out why and what this is aiming to solve, from the protocol authors, Professor Rowan Pritchard-Jones, Medical Director for NHS Cheshire and Merseyside; and Dr Jonathan Griffiths, GP and Primary Care Advisor to the Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership. Consensus on the primary and secondary care interface, Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership: https://www.cheshireandmerseysidepartnership.co.uk/consensus-on-the-primary-and-secondary-care-interface/