News story: Digital and service solutions to NHS challenges: apply for funds

NHS prescriptions sign in pharmacy shop window.

Innovate UK is to invest up to £4.5 million on behalf of the Office for Life Sciences in projects that combine digital and service innovations to significantly improve healthcare.

NHS England is to invest a further £1.5 million specifically in projects that apply digital approaches to supporting people with type 2 diabetes.

Test in real-world settings

We are seeking initial expressions of interest from both businesses with innovative digital projects and NHS organisations willing to lead a series of trials.

Successful applicants will be invited to a workshop where they will be able to meet and select partners. Consortia will then be invited to submit a detailed application to apply for funding.

It is part of the NHS test beds programme that aims to help innovators work with the NHS and test innovations in products and process in real-world settings.

Projects must meet NHS priorities

Business should have a market-ready digital product that meets safety and regulatory standards and could address a health and care challenge.

Projects will need to meet the priorities set by NHS England in its 5 Year Forward View.

NHS organisations must have a clearly defined health and care challenge and be willing to lead a consortium that will test whether a combination of product and service innovation can address that challenge.

Projects must produce significant significant health improvements at the same or lower cost.

Competition information

  • we are now inviting expressions of interest and the deadline is midday on 27 March 2018
  • to apply you can be:
    • an NHS organisation or partnership
    • a business of any size, but funding is only available to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises
  • we expect projects to range in size from £500,000 to £1.5 million and to last up to 18 months
  • businesses could receive up to 70% of their costs. NHS organisations will receive 100% of their costs
  • there will be a briefing event on 2 March 2018


Press release: Government appoints new VCSE Crown Representative

Claire Dove has been named as the new Crown Representative of the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE).

Ms Dove, who succeeds Michael O’Toole, will work alongside government departments and the Crown Commercial Service to strengthen the sector, support the upcoming Civil Society Strategy, and encourage VSCE organisations to operate more commercially.

Claire Dove VCSE Crown Representative, said:

It’s an honour to take on this role. Millions of people benefit from the work that charities and social enterprises do and I cannot wait to get started to ensure this sector continues to go from strength to strength.

Tracey Crouch, Minister for Sport and Civil Society, said:

Claire will bring a lot of passion and experience into this role – having chaired Social Enterprise UK among other organisations. I am looking forward to working alongside her and the Crown Commercial Service to help support the VCSE sector and societies across the country.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Claire Dove’s biography:

Claire Dove OBE, DL, has been a key player in the social enterprise movement since the early 1980s and has led the award-winning Blackburne House Group, one of the leading providers of adult and community education in the country, since its inception.

From December 2007 to January 2017 Claire was Chair of Social Enterprise UK (SEUK). She is a member of the Alder Hey Hospital Trust and, until recently, was a Board Member for the Charity Commission. She has chaired the Liverpool Fairness Commission on behalf of Liverpool City Council, is currently serving on the Liverpool Mayoral Development Board and is chair of the Society Advisory Board for the British Council.

Claire was awarded an MBE for her work in the mid-nineties. She received an OBE in 2013 and was given the Queens Lifetime Achievement Award for Enterprise Promotion.

Crown Commercial Service

  • The Crown Commercial Service runs the Crown Representative programme across a number of business areas, of which the VCSE Crown Representative will be part
  • Crown Representatives help the government act as a single customer. They work across departments to:
  • Ensure a single and strategic view of the government’s needs is communicated to the market
  • Identify areas for cost savings
  • Act as a point of focus for cross-cutting supplier-related issues


News story: CNC officer takes on marathon challenge for charity

PC Mike Frost is based at Hinkley Point and over the next few months will run the Bath Half marathon, the Weston Half marathon and the London marathon, a total of 52.4 miles.

Mike is carrying out the runs to raise money for the Miscarriage Association, a charity founded by a group of people who had experienced miscarriage which offers support and information to anyone affected by the loss of a baby in pregnancy and to raise awareness. Find out more from their website

Mike said: “I have been fundraising for the charity for a number of years, as prior to the arrival of our beautiful son, we suffered three miscarriages and the charity provided invaluable support to both me and my wife at this extremely upsetting and difficult time.

“I have run the Bath Half Marathon for the last two years and raised over £2,000 for the charity, however other commitments mean that this is the last year I will be able to fundraise, so I wanted to go out with a bang and complete two halves and a full marathon.

“The thought of completing three long distance runs is daunting but I have been training a lot, which has meant the added bonus of a two-stone weight loss! My aim is to complete the London Marathon in just over four hours and 30 minutes so that is what I am working towards at the moment.

“Miscarriage is a subject that is not talked about much, especially amongst men, so I have also found running a way of dealing with my issues and hope that by completing these marathons, I will also raise awareness of the charity. My goal is to raise £1,500 and I would very much appreciate any donations people can spare.” To sponsor Mike in his fund-raising efforts, visit his fundraising page.



News story: Second wave of NHS England test beds launched

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 £4.5 million. This funding can be used to evaluate different combinations of innovations from small and large organisations to address a locally identified clinical challenge.

The competition will be run in collaboration with Innovate UK.

The first wave of the test beds programme saw first-of-a-kind collaborations. Over 4,000 patients were recruited in 7 test bed sites across England and 51 digital innovations were trialled in partnership with 40 innovators. An evaluation report will be published in summer 2018.

Lord O’Shaughnessy, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health said:

The test beds programme has enabled ground-breaking digital innovations to transform the lives of patients with dementia, diabetes and mental illness.

Phase two of this pioneering research will allow us to learn even more from emerging technologies so that NHS clinical practice can adapt to the big health challenges we face.

Jonathan Burr, founder & CEO Howz, which was took part in the first wave of the test beds, said:

There have been many advantages to being part of the Technology Integrated Health Management test bed. We have been able to benchmark ourselves against others, had access to a world-class university and the project has created visibility. Most importantly, being part of TIHM means that Howz is now part of a clinical pathway – without the test bed this would have taken us years to achieve.

The projects will be evaluated rigorously, providing the evidence which will give more areas the confidence to adopt the innovations over the coming years.



Press release: Water quality returns to ‘safe’ following Heanor chemical spill

Tests carried out by the Environment Agency on the water quality of numerous ponds in Shipley Country Park have revealed the water has now returned to a safe drinking water quality and signs to stay out of the 2 affected ponds have now been removed.

Drinking water quality does not mean it is recommended to drink the pond water; it means the concentrations of cyanide currently monitored are below these standards.

Environment Agency officers have continued to investigate and monitor the impact on the local environment of an accidental spillage of around 400 litres of liquid cyanide from a lorry delivering to an industrial unit in Heanor on Tuesday 6 February, some of which leaked into the nearby Adam’s Pond.

Since the incident occurred, the Environment Agency has been regularly collecting samples from numerous ponds on the site and sharing the results with Derbyshire County Council, which owns the park, and Public Health England. The results have determined what actions were required to minimise the impact of the contaminants in the watercourse and ponds.

Greg Oakes, Area Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Samples have regularly been taken to monitor the cyanide levels in the water and the results of the latest samples show the water is now at a drinking water quality, which is an excellent result. However, we would stress, drinking water standards does not mean we would recommend drinking the pond water, it is just that the concentrations of cyanide currently monitored are below these standards.

Our officers have been working to minimise the effects of the spillage on the environment and wildlife in the area. The contamination was largely contained to Adam’s Pond, which unfortunately resulted in a number of dead fish being found in the pond but, due to the level of contamination, our staff were unable to enter the water to carry out a netting activity to capture them. Whilst our monitoring showed there was some discharge to the nearby Osbourne’s pond, this did not result in any dead fish being found there.

We placed bags of activated carbon downstream of Osbourne’s pond to help filter cyanide out of the water and prevent it from leaking down the watercourse into the further ponds but the best course of action, minimising risk to people and the environment, was to wait for it to break down naturally.

In light of the latest results, rather than continuing with monitoring on site, we will now put a recovery plan in place. Adam’s Pond is still closed to fishing to allow the water life to recover and the Environment Agency will meet with the county council and the local fishing club next month to discuss a management plan for the pond.

We will also be investigating the source of the pollution and take appropriate action against those found to be responsible.

A report by the Environment Agency’s National Centre for Environmental Toxicology confirmed there was no significant risk to other wildlife which may have eaten dead fish from Adam’s Pond.

Shipley Country Park has remained open and safe to use following the chemical spillage incident but visitors to the park were advised by Derbyshire County Council not to enter the water or let their dogs enter the water in Adam’s Pond and Osborne’s Pond.

Councillor Simon Spencer, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said:

Shipley is a much-loved park and the damage caused to Adam’s Pond is extremely distressing. But we’re relieved that there appears to have been no damage to Osborne’s Pond and pleased that the water in both ponds has now returned to safe drinking water quality.

This must not be allowed to happen again and we’re pleased there will be an investigation and action taken against those responsible to send a clear message to businesses that they need to take their environmental responsibilities seriously.

The Environment Agency plans to visit businesses on the industrial estate next to the park to identify any potential pollution risks. We’re grateful for any help and advice they can give about measures businesses can put in place to prevent further incidents like this happening at the park in the future.

Environment Agency staff work 24/7 to protect people and wildlife from pollution incidents. If you see pollution in your local river or watercourse, please call their incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60.