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A competition to identify a second wave of test beds will allow organisations to apply for a share of up to £6 million in funding.
NHS England and the Office for Life Sciences have launched a new competition to identify a second wave of ‘test beds’. The test bed programme is a joint programme between NHS England and government. It involves the NHS working with innovators using technology to address complex issues facing patients and the health service.
The new competition will allow businesses and NHS organisations to apply for a share of up to £6 million. This funding can be used to evaluate different combinations of innovations from small and large organisations to address a locally identified clinical challenge.
Read more: Competition allows organisations to apply for share of up to £6 million.
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A man has had his chest rebuilt using 3D printing technology during an operation to remove a large tumour.
The prosthesis was inserted into Peter Maggs' chest after he had three ribs and half his breastbone removed.
The tumour had grown to around the size of a tennis ball, and the procedure left an extensive defect in the 71-year-old's chest.
The eight-hour operation was carried out by surgeons at Morriston Hospital, Swansea.
Surgeons would traditionally have rebuilt it with a special cement prosthesis.
Read more: Patient's chest rebuilt with 3D printing technology
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Ending the fragmented way that care has been provided in the NHS using Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs).
There is widespread support for ending the fragmented way that care has been provided to improve services for patients and the NHS has been working towards this in a number of ways.
NHS England has announced it will be launching a consultation on the contracting arrangements for Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs).
ACOs are just one of these ways and are intended to allow health and care organisations to formally contract to provide services for a local population in a coordinated way. An ACO is not a new type of legal entity and so would not affect the commissioning structure of the NHS. An ACO would simply be the provider organisation which is awarded a single contract by commissioners for all the services which are within scope for the local accountable care model. Therefore any proposal to award an ACO contract would engage local commissioners’ own duties under the NHS Act 2006. Any area seeking to use an ACO contract would need to comply with longstanding public procurement law.
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More than 100 entrepreneurs have been given the chance to deliver the best new technology and innovations to fully modernise the NHS.
Some 138 people have been chosen by the health service to make it fit for the 21st century, including five healthcare scientists who will tackle conditions including sickle cell disease and allergic reactions.
The Clinical Entrepreneurs Programme, run by NHS England, supports NHS workers to work with, and learn from, leading health and technology industry experts to develop their own innovative ideas. NHS England has confirmed that more staff will be provided with mentoring and other support to improve patient care.
Read more: Voice-recognition app for tackling blood disease.
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NHS England, Public Health England and Diabetes UK have teamed up with leading companies from the tech sector as the battle against obesity and Type 2 diabetes goes digital. More than 5,000 people are expected to benefit from a pilot project project which will see five companies and eight areas of the country test drive a range of apps, gadgets, wristbands and other innovative digital products, which starts this month. Users will be able to access health coaches and online support groups as well as set and monitor goals electronically. Some patients will also receive wearable technology to help them monitor activity levels and receive motivational messages and prompts, which is being made available on the NHS for the first time. This online method of receiving support has the potential to have a similar impact to face-to-face interventions – helping bring down high blood sugar levels and in turn prevent or delay onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Read more: Thousands of people set to access diabetes and obesity prevention services.
