Funds up for grabs in innovation contest

Diabetes teams are being invited to enter an NHS innovation competition for the chance to win a slice of the £650,000 prize fund.

Organised by NHS England, The NHS Innovation Challenge Prizes encourages, celebrates and rewards innovation driven by frontline doctors, nurses and health service staff.

The first £100,000 prize is for care models tailored for the black and minority ethnic (BME) communities, in which the prevalence of diabetes is up to six-times higher than the UK’s white population. The second £100,000 prize focuses on innovations that enhance the quality of life for people with diabetes through care centred around the needs of individuals with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Applications close on 7 November 2014 with winners announced at an award ceremony on 23 February 2015. Only NHS organisations in England can apply and innovations must be proven to deliver better outcomes for patients and value for the taxpayer.

Simon Stevens, NHS Chief Executive, said: “We have a strong track record in developing and using new medical technologies to revolutionise the way we care for and treat patients – diagnostic ultrasound, the MRI scan, the ophthalmoscope used to examine our eyes – to name but a few.  All developed or invented by British innovators and used across the world to deliver healthcare to millions of people every day.” 

We need to find new ways of working if our health service is going to be fit to face the challenges ahead

“We need to find new ways of working if our health service is going to be fit to face the challenges ahead and we know that those ideas come from the brilliant people working in frontline caring and research roles.”

Now in its fourth year, the 2014 programme will offer prizes across seven categories including for recognising innovations that support patient safety, enhance care for those with diabetes and prevent people from dying prematurely through the innovative use of technology to speed up diagnosis or improve care.

Previous winners include Dr Neil Guha and Professor Guruprasad Aithal, from Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, who were awarded £100,000 after developing a new way of detecting early stage liver disease in the community.

The pathway uses a test first developed to detect the ripeness of cheese, to identify early stage liver disease, and has proven its potential to save lives and increase detection rates for cirrhosis. If rolled out nationally, this project could save the NHS as much £74.6 million in the first year.

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