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Professor Rowan Pritchard Jones, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Medical Director, has a background in plastic reconstructive surgery and trauma medicine with the British and US Armies. While working as a registrar at Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, he decided he needed to take action to help himself and clinicians everywhere to treat patients with traumatic burns injuries more safely: by automating the calculation of fluid balance requirements for burns victims, which is critical to survival. But, with multiple variables, it’s very challenging to calculate manually in emergency situations.

Rowan, along with consultant colleague Paula McArthur  and military colleague Chris Seaton, developed Mersey Burns – a mobile app to help doctors quickly and accurately prescribe the correct amount of resuscitation fluids. When it was released in 2011, it was the first app in the UK to be registered as a medical device, however, due to changing regulation, the app had to be suspended in 2022.

Health Innovation North West Coast was asked by Professor Pritchard Jones if we could help find the funding and expertise needed to get the app back in use. We responded and were able to find a local innovator with the enthusiasm and capability to make the vision a reality. Rowan was joined up with Michael Watts, digital innovator and NHS doctor, and his company Blüm Health.

In January 2024, Mersey Burns was relaunched back as a registered medical device to assist any health professional working with emergency burn patients.

Michael yesterday said:

“Mersey Burns is a testament to the UK medtech industry. Not only has it been revolutionary to supporting patients with burns across the UK, but the story of a Health Innovation Network introducing an SME to a NHS trust, developing an innovation using grant funding, really encapsulates the spirit of collaboration in and around the UK’s healthcare ecosystem.

“Blüm are incredibly proud to be the operational team behind the solution and we hope this sets an example of what good looks like for consortiums of organisations working together.” 

The app is currently free to NHS staff, and accessible on major app marketplaces, meaning it should help many patients. The first and second version of the app has had over 40,000 downloads. For more information, visit https://www.merseyburns.co.uk/