The collaboration with St George’s Hospital brings HEE’s membership to a total of 25 NHS organisations, and comes soon after the announcement of its tie-up with the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Foundation Trust. Having started out with just four partner Trusts in the East of England, HEE now works with a network of major teaching hospitals spanning London, the East, South East and South West of the country.
With over 9,000 dedicated staff caring for 1.3 million patients, St George’s is the largest healthcare provider in southwest London and serves a wider population of 3.5 million people across the capital, Surrey and Sussex. Working alongside researchers, scientists and clinical innovators, HEE will provide hands-on support to identify, develop and commercialise medtech innovations originating from Trust staff to enhance the quality of care provided and the patient experience.
Dr Anne Blackwood, CEO of HEE, commented: “Having reviewed over 2,000 innovations since HEE was first launched, it is clear to us that there is an abundance of creativity and innovation within the NHS. By working with partners like St George’s University Hospital, our aim is to support those clinicians who have bright ideas for medical innovations but who need practical guidance, not only on how to bring their ideas to life and but crucially on how to bring them to market. The fact that HEE is now in a position to support a Trust such as St George’s, with its prestigious reputation for research, shows just how far we’ve come, and is indeed a privilege. What better way for us to celebrate our 15th birthday!”
Dr Sven Hofmann, Head of Enterprise & Innovation, at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our new partnership with HEE will help us harness the expertise and innovation generated across both our hospital and university more effectively. Our clinicians and researchers will now enjoy direct access to practical advice, support and funding to help them arrive more quickly at new innovative solutions for the benefit of our patients. The development process will become more streamlined, with support on offer at every stage, from the proof-of-concept phase to real-world testing. With HEE’s track record in developing innovations, it will be exciting to see where this collaboration takes us.”
Since its launch in 2004, HEE has worked with its NHS member organisations to:
- Review over 2,200 ideas from across its network
- File and manage over 70 families of Intellectual Property Rights
- Negotiate and conclude 125 commercial deals to enable innovations to reach the NHS and benefit patients
- Leverage over £16 million in new investment to support medtech innovation projects
HEE also works with the Government on innovation programmes designed to accelerate new healthcare technologies to market, and with businesses to assess and evidence the market opportunity for new products or services. HEE’s unique understanding of market access challenges in the NHS helps MedTech companies to be commercially successful.