Testbed opportunities for SWAHSN members and businesses

Innovators from inside and outside the NHS are invited to pitch their ideas for devices and services, which will improve our healthcare system, to a new national ‘testbeds’ programme.

Read more about the ‘testbeds’ programme here which was launched in March 2015 by NHS England with a call to innovators from the UK, and globally, to express interest in taking part. Click here for more details.

Crucially, NHS England wants to connect these potential solutions to needs of regional healthcare systems.

For this reason, it has asked all 15 Academic Health Science Networks across England to get involved and identify sites for testing out the innovations.

We, at the South West Academic Health Science Network, would like to hear from anybody working within our NHS-member organisations who has an idea for a site where a solution is needed.

For example, the Associate Director of Strategic Development at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, has suggested developing a testbed site focused on reducing readmission and length of stay through enhanced communication between community and acute teams.

NHS England has set these criteria for any testbed site:

Effective leadership underpinned by strong relationships – sites should include local groups of commissioners and providers from all sectors

The capability to share data across all parties (implemented and/or in development)

Serve a population of £1m or more

A commitment to conduct real world demonstrations of combinations of innovations in partnership with industry

Committed to moving at pace, with governance that promotes swift decision-making and problem solving

Please contact Jon Sidddall at the SWAHSN if you would like more information – jon.siddall@swahsn.com 01392 247903