Annual Review
2022–23

Our impact in transforming lives in the South West through innovation in health and care

 

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Our Focus —

Transforming lives through innovation in health and care

 

Learn about our programmes

Regional Programme —

Perinatal
health equity

Innovation to improve health equity for children under 1 year old in the South West.

 

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National programme —

Cardiovascular Disease 

Supporting the health and care system in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.   

 

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Regional Programme —

Children and Young People’s Mental Health 

Improving mental health equity for children and young people in the South West.   

 

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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.
South West coastline

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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Latest
News

Results of study on prehospital births driving improvements to urgent neonatal care

Results of study on prehospital births driving improvements to urgent neonatal care

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Improving maternity care – lessons from scaling up the PReCePT programme

Improving maternity care – lessons from scaling up the PReCePT programme

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Innovate Awards 2023 finalists announced

Innovate Awards 2023 finalists announced

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Upcoming
Events

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28
12
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