Our purpose is to transform lives through health and care innovation.
The South West Academic Health Science Network (South West AHSN) is one of 15 AHSNs set up by NHS England in 2013.
We exist to help transform the way our health and care systems in the South West identify, adopt and spread innovation to transform lives, improve population health, and drive economic growth.
Together with our local and national partners we are increasing the impact of research and innovation across the peninsula.
The South West AHSN —
Our approach is grounded in the context of the place we work.
- A place with one of the lowest population densities in the country
- With people living across a mix of coastal communities, isolated rural areas and urban centres – who experience health and health & care services in very different ways
- Creating considerable challenges in delivering health & care services and improving population health
- And generating significant variation in equity of health – in equity of access to services, equity of health outcomes and equity of opportunity to live a healthy life.
Within the Devon system we recognise the vital role that innovation plays in our health and care system. Learning from our work with the South West AHSN to date has created a mutual appetite to work in further partnership as a system and across the region – creating the optimal conditions for joint working.”
— NIGEL ACHESON
CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, NHS DEVON
What we do
Finding and connecting innovators to health and care systems
As the one stop shop for innovation, we help innovators and health and care professionals to collaborate, matching new ideas to local system priorities and supporting innovators with advice and expertise across the innovation pathway.
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Developing, testing and evaluating innovation in the real world
We work with innovators and health and care professionals to help them shape and evolve an idea to tackle a complex problem. We test and evaluate solutions and share knowledge to provide rapid, actionable insights that inform improvements and build a case for scaling innovative practice.
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Adopting and spreading proven innovations at scale
We support the South West health and care system to implement and scale solutions, applying a range of change models to implement innovation with a sustainable impact for workforce and patients.
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Creating the conditions to innovate
We work with our partners to create capacity and build capability in the health and care system to enable the adoption and spread of innovation. We support innovators to navigate the NHS, facilitating research and development as well as enabling access to crucial funding to implement innovative solutions to challenges in health and care.
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