Annual Review
2022–23
Who we are
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.
In 2022/23
177,733
patients and service users were helped by the South West AHSN
£7,434,345.55
of investment funding was leveraged by the South West AHSN
264
companies worked with the South West AHSN
75.6
jobs were created or safeguarded following our support
Our region
Our work in the South West is focused across the counties of Devon, Somerset, and Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
There is significant variation among our places – from isolated rural farming areas to market towns, coastal communities and urban centres.
This geographical construct creates complex challenges for our health and care systems in delivering services and improving population health.
How we work
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.
View
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.
ViewFinding 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.
Our impact 2022/23
- Over 160 innovators were brought together with health and care system, government and innovation representatives at our event Bridging the Gap
- 170 businesses provided with in-depth support and showcase opportunities through our Innovation Exchange
- 11 innovations supported with introduction and evaluation in new clinical settings
- Local digital innovation S12 Solutions now supporting the mental health crisis pathway across approx. 80% of England
- Six digital and nature-based innovations tackling equity gaps in children and young people’s mental health were validated in the real world, through our Health Equity Innovation Challenge 2022
Our priorities 2023/24
- Our Innovation Exchange, identifying innovation focused on long term conditions, mental health, urgent care, cancer, and maternity and neonatal care
- Developing our new Innovation Portal to showcase cutting-edge innovations to health and care systems
- Launching our Innovation HeadSPACE series of events to enable innovators to use our Innovation Space
Case studies
We brought together over 160 innovators with representatives from Integrated Care Systems, NHS England and Government at Bridging the Gap in March 2023
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.
Our impact 2022/23
- Community and Assessment Treatment Units in Cornwall evaluated as a safe alternative referral route
- Nine South West mental health and learning disability wards supported as part of our Mental Health Safety Improvement Programme
- Co-design and evaluation of a new safer sleep resource with The Lullaby Trust has increased practitioner confidence in conversations, and understanding within families from marginalised communities
- Evaluation indicates quality improvement training has a positive impact on use of electronic repeat dispensing in primary care
- Our evaluation experts supported fellow AHSNs to develop and embed logic models to evaluate the impact of NHS England’s Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme
Our priorities 2023/24
- Working with our partners to identify, test and evaluate national and regional programmes focused on long term conditions, mental health, urgent care, cancer, and maternity and neonatal care
- Sharing learning from our regional health equity programmes on perinatal health, and children and young people’s mental health.
- Sharing our evaluation expertise to support our partners to understand their impact and improve service delivery.
Case studies
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.
Our impact 2022/23
- Adoption and spread of blood pressure optimisation practice in over 30 GP practices across the South West
- 55 more patients seen per month and <82-week reduction in waiting times in Somerset following a redesign of their lipid management service
- 57% of Primary Care Networks in the South West now have access to a Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) machine to support faster asthma diagnosis
- 294 new patients started asthma biologic therapy, referral to treatment time reduced by 171 days, and asthma Emergency Department attendance for patients on biologics reduced by 36%
- 1,200 staff in 245+ care homes across the South West, alongside 196 domiciliary care staff, trained in RESTORE2 – a physical deterioration and escalation tool to improve deterioration management
- Evaluation of PERIPrem shows 26% more mothers and babies born prematurely in the South West received care interventions they were eligible for
Our priorities 2023/24
- Implementing with our partners NHS England’s Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme and Lung Health @home, and our Cardiovascular Disease Programme
- Delivering NHS England’s Safety Improvement Programmes on mental health, maternity and neonatal, systems safety, medicines and managing deterioration
- Ensuring all patients with lower limb wounds receive evidence-based care via our Transforming Wound Care programme
- Supporting the adoption of selected NICE-approved products via NHS England’s MedTech Funding Mandate
- Supporting Integrated Care Boards to digitise 80% of adult social care providers as part of NHS England’s Digitisation of Social Care.
Case studies
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.
Our impact 2022/23
- Undertaking desktop and field research to develop actionable insights to support Integrated System Development in Devon
- Informing the development of a system-level improvement approach in Cornwall through research, engagement and analysis
- 331 jobs created or saved in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in partnership with Resonance (2017-23)
- £375,000 of funding successfully distributed to 35 businesses in partnership with EPIC (E-Health Productivity and Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly)
- 92% of midwives in our Perinatal Bias & Newborn Assessment training evaluation reported feeling confident to deliver the training within their own organisations
Our priorities 2023/24
- Launching with our partners our Peninsula Research and Innovation Strategy
- Building the culture, capability and capacity for research and innovation in long term conditions, mental health, urgent care, cancer, and maternity and neonatal on the Peninsula to thrive
Case studies
Midwives Becky Cockings and Bea Chubb deliver Perinatal Bias & Newborn Assessment Training in our Innovation Space at Vantage Point, Exeter
An Innovation Space
for the South West
An award-winning space designed to encourage interaction, inspire creative thinking, and foster collaboration and innovation in health and care.
Vantage Point in Exeter, Devon, is a central innovation hub for the South West’s health and care sectors and the home of the South West Academic Health Science Network.
From individual innovators developing ideas and local teams running improvement projects, to large showcase events hosting key government and industry speakers, our innovation space plays host to a variety of our partners and a mixture of face-to-face, hybrid and online events spanning our activities across health, care and innovation. Across 2022/23 we’ve hosted 81 online events, received 139 room hire bookings, and welcomed 2,553 new external visitors.
Within Vantage Point you’ll find an amphitheatre with tiered seating, dual screens for hybrid meetings and clustered break-out spaces, a pair of conference rooms which may be used separately or as one large room, and a glass-walled innovation space that is perfect for workshops.
We also have a café and kitchen area to help spark conversation and innovative thinking over coffee.
We welcome all our partners, innovators and colleagues in health and care to join us in using our inspiring space. In 2023/24 we’ll be launching Innovator HeadSPACE, a free weekly opportunity for innovators to use our workspace.
To learn more about Vantage Point and how it can support your innovative thinking, collaborative projects or event needs, visit our webpage.
How our work
is funded
Income
| NHS England | £2,150,250 |
| Office for Life Sciences | £651,000 |
| Patient Safety Collaborative | £371,428 |
| Member income | £210,000 |
| Other project income | £2,335,707 |
| Carried forward from previous financial year | £1,038,013 |
| Total: | £6,756,398 |
Expenditure
| Project expenditure | £5,615,014 |
| Corporate operations | £1,141,384 |
| Total: | £6,756,398 |
Our board
The South West AHSN strategy is guided by a Board of Directors drawn from its member organisations. Our executive team are also members of the Board.
Find out moreOur team
We are a team of 61 professionals who offer wide-ranging expertise in finance, healthcare, project management, communications, business development, data analysis, evaluation, knowledge management, HR, and office and events support.
Find out moreOur members
The South West AHSN is a membership organisation. We work collaboratively with members and partners in the region and beyond to connect NHS and academic organisations, local authorities, the third sector and industry. Thank you to all our members and partners for their continued support.
Find out more
