The Clinical Entrepreneur Training programme has been co-designed by NHS England and Health Education England to offer opportunities for doctors and the wider health professionals to develop their entrepreneurial aspirations.
Read "Applications open for the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme"
An independent audit of one of the innovative workstreams supported by the WMAHSN, showing impressive benefits to patients and the NHS, has been published. WMAHSN commissioned GE Finnamore to undertake an independent innovation assurance audit of the West Midlands Genomic Medicine Centre, with a particular focus on what has been achieved through taking a whole regional patient population approach with the majority of NHS providers and commissioners, academia and industry across the area.
Prime Minister Theresa May has given her backing to the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) in a speech to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) today. Addressing the CBI's annual conference in London this morning, Mrs May pledged a review of the SBRI programme to increase its impact and to help connect public sector challenges with innovative ideas from industry, supporting companies to generate economic growth and enabling improvement in achieving government objectives.
Read "Prime Minister backs review of the SBRI programme to increase impact for innovators"
The WMAHSN has welcomed the results of its second, annual stakeholder survey, with 75% of respondents recommending working with them. The annual survey saw 172 people in the West Midlands take part – itself a major improvement on the 65 respondents last year – to share their views on how the WMAHSN is increasing the adoption and diffusion of innovation across its region. Of these, three quarters said that they would recommend working with WMAHSN, up from 61% last year.
An independent audit of one of the innovative workstreams undertaken by the WMAHSN, showing impressive benefits to mental health patients, police and the NHS, has been published. WMAHSN commissioned GE Finnamore to undertake an independent innovation assurance audit of the RAID programme, the psychiatric liaison service for acute trusts. Originally developed by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, the WMAHSN has driven the uptake of RAID across other trusts in the West Midlands and beyond.
Read "Independent review highlights innovations in mental health crisis care in the West Midlands"
The Association for Dementia Studies (ADS) at the University of Worcester is assessing whether the ‘Nursing Scale for Older Patients with Cognitive Impairments in the Acute Care Hospital’ is suitable for nursing staff in English speaking countries. ADS would like people with a healthcare qualification who have acute hospital experience in supporting people with dementia to complete a survey to help them meet these aims.
Read "Hospital staff who support people with dementia sought to complete survey"
Improvement FUNdamentals is a new and innovative massive open online course (MOOC) for people working in health and care. The course covers the principles of quality improvement in a fun and accessible way. The course has run twice during the past 18 months with more than 5,000 delegates taking part, and this latest version has been enhanced and improved based on feedback.
Read "Free NHS England online health and care service improvement course"
The West Midlands Patient Safety Collaborative (WMPSC) is seeking a Project Assistant to joins its busy and thriving team. The PSC is looking for an outstanding person to provide a comprehensive administrative and project support service to the West Midlands PSC. We are seeking a knowledgeable and enthusiastic individual with broad administrative experience to ensure the organisation works according to national and local guidelines.
Read "West Midlands Patient Safety Collaborative seeks Project Assistant to join the team"
The WMAHSN's Clinical Lead for Long term conditions, Dr Ruth Chambers, has had advice for GP practices on making their websites more effective published in a leading health journal. Ruth's article, "Revamp your website to reduce demand" - co-authored with Marc Schmid of Redmoor Communications - has appeared in this month's edition of Pulse magazine, which is aimed at GPs.
Read "WMAHSN Clinical Lead has website advice for GP practices published in leading journal"
WMAHSN will be joining a company specialising in fitness for the over 50s at a fair for pensioners in Bromsgrove later this month. The Pensioners' Fair is the brainchild of Sajid Javid, MP for Bromsgrove and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The fair is aimed at those who are retired or approaching retirement and provides information about the local services available for pensioners.
Read "WMAHSN to feature at minister's Pensioners' Fair in Worcestershire"
Join Dementia Research is a nationwide online and telephone service that makes it easier for people to register their interest in volunteering for dementia research studies. To help support healthcare professionals in finding different examples of integrating research as a core element of the normal NHS care pathway, Join Dementia Research has launched a new online toolkit, which can be adapted locally.
Read "Join Dementia Research Toolkit for healthcare professionals now available"
Around 200 delegates across the West Midlands’ healthcare and life sciences landscape will be flocking to Telford in December for an annual economic summit, examining the links between health and wealth and the implications for the region of recent economic developments. The WMAHSN will be hosting its third Economic Summit, which will see representatives hear how driving co-operation and productivity in healthcare can boost economic productivity, as well as increasing the employability of people across the region.
Read "Healthcare leaders gear up for regional economic summit"
The Association for Dementia Studies is pleased to announce that their new cultural competence education resource is ready for use. This free education programme, which was developed with the expertise of quality and training and development leads from organisations that provide care for people living with dementia in their own homes, was funded by a grant from the Department of Health.
A leaflet which outlines the support people with diabetes can receive outside of their GP or hospital, which has been supported by the WMAHSN, will be launched today at a conference in the Black Country. The leaflet, Support for people with diabetes, was developed by NHS England's Local Professional Networks, in partnership with WMAHSN. The leaflet outlines the role of community pharmacy, diabetic eye screening and NHS sight tests and dental teams in supporting people with diabetes.
Read "WMAHSN-supported diabetes leaflet launched at Black Country conference"
Entrepreneurs still have time to apply for up to £1 million investment to develop and commercialise innovations with a focus on developing general practice of the future. SBRI Healthcare is delivered collaboratively by NHS England and the AHSN Network. Innovations are sought to address three main challenge areas in general practice.
Read "Still time to apply for funding for innovations to help transform general practice"
The West Midlands Health Informatics Network (WIN) is holding its third annual conference on 24 January 2017 at the University of Warwick. WIN is currently inviting organisations to exhibit throughout the day and sponsor various aspects of the proceedings. Sponsorship options are available and are inexpensive. Either option would allow for your organisation to strengthen its presence in the region.
Developers and owners of apps relevant to the care sector are being invited to upload information about them to PSDeXchange, a new showcase aimed at social care users and commissioners. A selection of apps uploaded will also be featured in the live showcase that will be part of the ADASS Care Apps conference and showcase being held in Birmingham on 7 March 2017.
Read "Upload your details of your care app to new online showcase"
West Midlands Academic Health Science Network has welcomed four more organisations into its enhanced membership fold. Two universities and two acute trusts - Keele University, Aston University, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Birmingham Women's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - are the latest organisations to join the AHSN's enhanced membership scheme.
Read "Four more organisations join WMAHSN enhanced membership scheme"
Medtech devices and apps will for the first time be included under NHS national payment rules helping to accelerate uptake, NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens has announced today. Now following clinical review, the first six innovations have today been selected as part of a new Innovation and Technology Tariff, benefiting women giving birth, patients with chronic lung problems, men having urological surgery, and acutely ill inpatients. NHS England is also, in parallel, backing new mobile technology solutions for diagnosing heart problems. is used.
Read "Medtech innovations to have accelerated uptake under new tariff"