The government has
announced £4 million of funding for businesses to develop
cutting-edge ideas to address some of the biggest health problems
of our time.
The Department of Health has opened two new competitions with up
to £2 million of funding each to develop technological and
innovative solutions that can:
• Change people’s behaviour in order to reduce the impact of
obesity and alcohol related diseases.
• Improve the number of
patients taking their medication as prescribed.
Obesity and Alcohol related diseases and patients not taking
their medication as prescribed are major health challenges.
Alcohol and Obesity related diseases cost the NHS over £7 billion
each year and between 6-10 % of all hospital admissions could be
preventable if prescription medication was taken correctly.
Businesses are invited to come up with innovative solutions to
these challenges. This could be anything from a device which helps
people monitor what they eat or drink or a personalised care
package to help people take their medication as prescribed.
Health Minister, Lord Howe said:
“Technology and innovation have an important role to play in
helping to address the healthcare challenges facing the NHS. That
is why we are investing £20 million in new and creative ideas and
projects which can make a difference to patients’ lives.
“Today’s competitions provide an opportunity to develop highly
innovative solutions for some of the biggest health problems of
our time and we look forward to seeing the results.”
Sir David Nicholson, Chief Executive of the NHS said:
“Investing in innovation is vital for a modern and efficient NHS-
it will benefit the patient, the taxpayer and UK plc. The Small
Business Research Initiative (SBRI) is a key part of the
Innovation, Health and Wealth agenda, which aims to spread
innovation throughout the NHS.
“These competitions provide vital funding for businesses to
explore, develop and test new technology before it becomes
commercially available. Organisations are invited to submit their
ideas which could have a real impact on patients and the NHS.”
Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board said:
“The SBRI process enables government to engage with innovative
ideas from industry, acting as a lead customer to address
intractable challenges. It is really positive to see DH and the
NHS, building on their experience of previous successful SBRI
competitions, using this approach to address new areas and drive innovation.”
The competitions will be run through the Small Business Research
Initiative (SBRI) process and are open to all organisations not
just those in the health sector. Recent competition winners
include Eykona Technologies Ltd. who has developed a novel 3D
wound imaging system which allows healthcare professionals to
monitor chronic wounds more effectively and tailor treatment
accordingly. This system is currently being sold to the NHS.
The competitions will be managed by NHS London and NHS Midlands
and East.
Businesses can find out more about the competitions by attending
a briefing session, which will be held in London on 12th April.
More details are available at www.innovateuk.org.uk/SBRI.
Notes to Editors:
• For further information, please contact the Department of
Health press office on 020 7210 5221.
• One of the published measures in “The Plan for Growth” issued
by HM Treasury and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
(BIS) in March 2011 was that DH is committing £10 million on SBRI
competitions that address healthcare challenges.
In December
2011 it was published in “Innovation Health and Wealth” that DH
will double its investment in SBRI, which equates to £20 million.
• NHS London will manage the process for the competition
‘changing behaviour to reduce the impact of obesity and alcohol
related diseases. NHS Midlands and East will manage the process
for the competition ‘Improve the number of patients taking their
prescribed medication.
• Innovation, Health and Wealth
Innovation, health and
Wealth sets out a delivery agenda for spreading innovation at pace
and scale throughout the NHS. It includes a number of actions that
will deliver game changing improvements in the quality and value
of care delivered in the NHS. They are designed as an integrated
set of measures that together will support the NHS in achieving a
systematic and profound change in the way the NHS operates. The
IHW Implementation Board that reports to the NHS Chief Executive
(chaired by Sir Ian Carruthers OBE, CE, NHS South of England) has
met three times, and we have established cross-sector ‘Task and
Finish’ Groups to lead the implementation of each recommendation,
including our commitment on SBRI investment. The NHS is starting
to mobilise to deliver IHW. For example, the North has established
a CEO forum to oversee delivery, in the East the region wide
Innovation Council has been asked to lead delivery and we are
working with NHS commissioners to ensure their delivery plans for
2012/13 support delivery of the High Impact Innovations.
• The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led government body
which works to create economic growth by ensuring that the UK is a
global leader in innovation. Sponsored by the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy
Board brings together business, research and the public sector,
supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products
and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal
challenges and help build the future economy. For more information
please visit www.innovateuk.org
• SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) is co-ordinated by
the Technology Strategy Board and is designed to encourage
government departments and other agencies to ensure that a
proportion of their procurement budget goes to innovative
companies, and that they are procuring innovative solutions to
some of the challenges that they face. The aim of SBRI is to use
the power of government procurement to drive technology
development, especially in early-stage companies, supporting
projects through the stages of prototyping and demonstration,
which are typically hard to fund. SBRI offers an excellent
opportunity for businesses to develop and demonstrate technology,
supported by a customer, and to reach the first rung on the
government procurement ladder. For more information please visit:
http://www.innovateuk.org/deliveringinnovation/smallbusinessresearchinitiative.ashx
• Obesity and Alcohol related diseases are a major health problem
and represent a significant cost burden to the NHS. In 2011 there
were around 1 million alcohol related hospital admissions costing
the NHS around £2.7 billion. In England more than 60% of adults
and a third of 10 and 11 year olds overweight or obese. It is
estimated that between 30-50% of prescribed medication is not
taken as recommended which results in between 6-10 % of all
hospital admissions.
• NHS London is the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) for the
whole of the Greater London area. NHS London provides strategic
leadership for the capital's healthcare and makes sure
the 13 billion annual investment in staff and services delivers
the best possible care and support for the public and patients.
NHS London also has a duty to promote innovation and to encourage
NHS services in London to constantly find new ways to improve the
health of Londoners, tackle health inequalities and provide the
highest quality services. www.london.nhs.uk
• NHS Midlands and East is the Strategic Health Authority cluster
incorporating NHS East of England, NHS West Midlands and NHS East
Midlands which provides strategic direction for healthcare
services across this cluster.
Competition details
Competition - Change people’s behaviour in order to reduce the
impact of obesity and alcohol related diseases.
The application process is run through NHS London. All
applications should be made using the application form, which can
be downloaded from www.london.nhs.uk/sbri
Key dates
Competition launch 28 March 2012
Deadline for applications 1
June 2012
Competition - Improve the number of patients taking their
prescribed medication.
The application process is run through Health Enterprise East,
the NHS Innovation Hub for the East of England. All applications
should be made using the application forms, which can be
downloaded from www.hee.org.uk.
Please email
your forms to enquiries@hee.org.uk by
1200hrs on 18th May 2012.
Key dates
Competition launch 28 March 2012
Deadline for
applications 18 May 2012
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk