NHS Innovation Service

NHS Innovation Service

• The NHS Innovation Service acts as an ‘information gateway’ to support NHS Staff developing new innovative products, services or initiatives in healthcare (‘innovators’), to understand processes such as the regulations and standards they will need to meet, the real-world evidence they will need to demonstrate, and NHS procurement and reimbursement processes. It will also be a single entry point for innovators to register for support and/or to apply for certain programmes.

Innovation and knowledge development amongst providers of occupational health

Innovation and knowledge development amongst providers of occupational health
DHSC, Dept for Work and Pensions 20 July 2021

• This research provides a description of employer attitudes, approaches to developing knowledge and examples of innovative practice in occupational health.

Translating economic evaluations into financing strategies for implementing evidence-based practices.

Translating economic evaluations into financing strategies for implementing evidence-based practices. Implementation Sci 16, 66 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-021-01137-9

• Implementation researchers are increasingly using economic evaluation to explore the benefits produced by implementing evidence-based practices (EBPs) in healthcare settings. However, the findings of typical economic evaluations (e.g., based on clinical trials) are rarely sufficient to inform decisions about how health service organizations and policymakers should finance investments in EBPs. This paper describes how economic evaluations can be translated into policy and practice through complementary research on financing strategies that support EBP implementation and sustainment.

Review of spread and adoption approaches across the AHSN Network

Review of spread and adoption approaches across the AHSN Network
AHSN Network 20 May 2021

• An in-depth study examining approaches to spreading and adopting innovation in the health sector provides the first aggregated view of approaches and challenges to spread and adoption across the AHSN Network, to help the AHSNs and their partners understand the complexity and variation. As well as mapping approaches across the AHSN Network, the review included a deep dive into the Transfers of Care Around Medicines (TCAM) national programme.
• See the AHSN Network Innovation Finder database - a database of innovations currently on a nationally prioritised scheme for spread and adoption across the AHSNs.

The use of public engagement for technological innovation: literature review and case studies

The use of public engagement for technological innovation: literature review and case studies
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy 28 January 2021

• Research describing evidence on the current use of public engagement for policy development and regulation of technological innovation.

How can we learn from changes in practice under COVID-19?

How can we learn from changes in practice under COVID-19? A guide for health and care teams to learn from innovations during the pandemic
Analytical Collaboration for COVID-19 October 2020

• This guide has been developed to help health and social care teams and their leaders learn from service changes put in place or accelerated during the COVID-19 response. Includes useful tools and resources eg learning frameworks, knowledge mobilisation, sharing learning, evaluation.
• Produced as part of the Analytical Collaboration for COVID-19 which brings together: the Health Foundation; King’s Fund; Nuffield Trust; Imperial College Health Partners and the Strategy Unit.

Innovation Collaborative - Digital Health

Innovation Collaborative - Digital Health

FutureNHS (registration required) Launched 10 August 2020

• This space is dedicated to accelerating the spread of evidenced digital innovations in health and care with a focus on empowering people with their data, and supporting people at home 
• See NHS X News here.

Guidance to support rapid successful changes to health and social care that will last during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic

Guidance to support rapid successful changes to health and social care that will last during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic
ARC South London 29 July 2020

• An interactive resource to support the rapid implementation and evaluation of health and social care innovations, interventions and new services during, and after, the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fab NHS Stuff campaigns - #No Going Back, CV-19

Fab NHS Stuff campaigns

• #No Going Back - Innovations from NHS staff to support new changes and ways of working across the health and social care sector going forward.
• CV-19 - innovations form NHS staff around new and better ways, developing resilience, being kind and improving the patient experience.

Beneficial innovations from COVID-19 -

Beneficial innovations from COVID-19
British Geriatrics Society 3 July 2020

• Examples of innovations contributed by BGS members that have been implemented in their areas:
• Proactive anticipatory care for older people with frailty
• Urgent primary care response
• Specialist-les assessment and treatment at home
• Coordinated multi-agency support for care homes
• Person-centred advance care planning
• Age-attuned acute care
• Safe, effective and timely transfers of care
• Optimising recovery and rehabilitation
• Virtual clinics
• Digitally-enabled care

The effectiveness of community-based social innovations for healthy ageing in middle- and high-income countries: a systematic review

The effectiveness of community-based social innovations for healthy ageing in middle- and high-income countries: a systematic review
Journal of Health Services Research & Policy 6 April 2020 https://doi.org/10.1177/1355819619888244

• A systematic review of research around community-based social innovations that aimed to empower people aged 50 and over by motivating them to take initiative for their own health and wellbeing. The identified papers (n=44) reported interventions having positive impacts on participants, such as reduced depression, though the majority of studies were classified as being at medium or high risk of bias. There was no evidence on costs or cost-effectiveness and very little reporting of outcomes at an organisation or system level.

Achieving scale and spread: Learning for innovators and policy-makers

Achieving scale and spread: Learning for innovators and policy-makers
Nuffield Trust 5 March 2020
How to achieve greater scale and spread beyond early adopters.

• This research sought to draw out proactive tactics that could support more comprehensive adoption of innovation in England. It explores the factors affecting NHS organisations’ decision-making, motivations and experiences when adopting innovation.
• The report is based on a review of the existing literature, semi-structured interviews with a range of innovators and adopters, and development of a conceptual framework, a workshop with innovators and a policy roundtable to draw out considerations for policy-makers.

Using logic models to evaluate innovations in health care [blogpost]

Using logic models to evaluate innovations in health care [blogpost]
Nuffield Trust 4 March 2020

• "A closer look" at how evaluators, implementers and commissioners can get the most out of logic models to evaluate health care programmes.
• Includes "What is a logic model?" and the advantages and disadvantages.

LGA Transformation and Innovation Exchange

Transformation and Innovation Exchange

• An LGA online hub that brings together practical help for local government about innovation and efficiency. Includes a range of public health resources.

Quality improvement in general practice: what do GPs and practice managers think?

Quality improvement in general practice: what do GPs and practice managers think?
Health Foundation December 2019

• A survey of over 2,300 GPs and 1,400 practice managers across the UK has found that most GPs and practice managers see quality improvement as a core aspect of their work, with 99% reporting undertaking QI activities, and many working collaboratively with neighbouring practices to improve services. However, there are many issues making it difficult to deliver improvement, including high patient demand and staff shortages; demands of other NHS agencies; lack of protected time; and level of improvement capability.

Evaluating integrated care: why are evaluations not producing the results we expect?

Evaluating integrated care: why are evaluations not producing the results we expect?
Nuffield Trust 18 November 2019

• With a number of different integrated care models not reducing hospital admissions as expected, this briefing outlines the reasons why this might be happening highlighting model design, design, implementation failure, unrealistic expectations, and underuse of process evaluation. 
• It includes advice for model design and implementation, for commissioners of evaluation, and for evaluators on how to address these issues.

What Good Looks Like for population health programmes

What Good Looks Like
Association of Directors of Public Health, Public Health England 30 September 2019

• A series of ‘What Good Looks Like’ (WGLL) publications that set out the guiding principles of ‘what good quality looks like’ for population health programmes in local systems.
• The WGLL publications are based on the evidence of ‘what works and how it works’ including effectiveness, efficiency, equity, examples of best practices, opinions and viewpoints and, where available a return on investment.
• Current documents, others will be added: 
• What Good Children and Young People’s Public Health Looks Like
• What Good Local Tobacco Control Looks Like
• What Good Healthy Weight Looks Like
• What Good Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Looks Like
• What Good Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Provision Looks Like
• What Good Public Mental Health Looks Like
• What Good Health at Work Looks Like

LGA Transformation and Innovation Exchange

Transformation and Innovation Exchange

• The LGA has created an online hub that brings together practical help for local government about innovation and efficiency into one place. It features a range of case studies, guidance, tools, performance data, training and other resources to help councils continue to deliver value for money and better outcomes for communities.

The changing face of clinical commissioning

The changing face of clinical commissioning
NHS Clinical Commissioners 23 May 2019

• The report highlights the work of CCGs to drive through innovations and improvements across health and social care and the key strengths which should be retained within the new structures proposed by the NHS Long Term Plan.

Spreading and scaling up innovation and improvement

Spreading and scaling up innovation and improvement
BMJ 2019;365:l2068 10 May 2019

• There are common sense reasons why spreading an innovation across an entire health system is hard. Achieving any change takes work, and it usually also involves—in various combinations—spending money, diverting staff from their daily work, shifting deeply held cultural or professional norms, and taking risks. This rapid review discusses three common approaches in innovation spread —implementation science, complexity science, and social science.