Organised by Heath Enterprise East (HEE), a leading NHS innovation hub, the competition challenges staff working in the hub’s Member Trusts to come forward with innovative ideas for products and services that address unmet needs in the NHS and improve patient services.
The winning organ matching App, developed by Harikrishna Doshi and team at Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (pictured receiving their award from host, BBC Look East presenter Susie Fowler-Watt), addresses the significant clinical need to improve the current manual process of donor-recipient matching which is complex, time pressured and risks introducing human error. The app interrogates two existing platforms to match donor to an ideal recipient from the pool of potential candidates. It not only makes the process quick but ensures quality and safety. The anonymity of data ensures information governance and makes donor recipient matching possible remotely. The App can be easily applied to other organs and its use extended to a national level.
Three innovations born out of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust were finalists in the Medical Technology and Service Improvement categories. Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust joined Papworth on the shortlist of finalists in the Software/ICT/Assistive Technology category.
For the first time this year, the competition was opened up to industry with the introduction of a new category. Andrea Haworth and team at Cambridge-based company Congenica Ltd, won the award for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Innovation with SAPIENTIA™, a genome analytics platform for rapid and accurate genomic interpretation and diagnosis of genetic disorders.
The HEE Innovation Awards Ceremony was hosted by the BBC Look East presenter Susie Fowler-Watt at the Radisson Blu Hotel London Stansted last Thursday (9th June). Winners of each of the five categories - Medical Technology, Patient Safety, Software/ICT/Assistive Technology, Service Improvement, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Innovation - received £2,500 to further develop their idea and an engraved trophy.
Guest Speakers at the ceremony were Dr Steve Feast, newly appointed Managing Director of the Eastern Academic Health Science Network (EAHSN) and Andrea Haworth, Head of Clinical Services at Congenica, a company founded on world-leading genomic technology pioneered at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and the Department of Health.
Dr Anne Blackwood, Chief Executive at HEE said: “In this our tenth NHS Innovation Competition we continue to recognised the very best ideas in health and care innovation from across the region. More so than ever, the NHS needs bright ideas to help address healthcare challenges and improve patient services.
“There was a strong response not just from NHS staff within our Member Trusts but from industry this year too. All those shortlisted were chosen not only for their creative thinking but also for their fantastic work and commitment to patient care and HEE will continue to work with each of them to support and promote the work that they do, now and into the future.
“As well as congratulating all the winners I’d like to thank our panel of judges who had the difficult task of making the selections, and to all of our sponsors for their generous support for the awards ceremony.”
Award winners
- Medical Technology
Peter Hoskin & team from East & North Hertfordshire NHS Trust: Fixation template device for the delivery of high dose radiation (brachytherapy) in prostate cancer treatment. - Patient Safety
Dr Latha Thangaraj & team from West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust: Living in comfort, cherishing life - A project that has dramatically improved outcomes for elderly patients following hip fracture surgery. - Software/ICT/Assistive Technology
Harikrishna Doshi & team from Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Lung donor offers – An App that automatically matches organ donors to an ideal recipient from a pool of potential candidates without the need for manual selection. - Service Improvement
Philippa Taitt & team from Norfolk & Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: A project that has increased efficiency and improved patient satisfaction by influencing ‘Did Not Attends’ (DNAs) in a busy radiology department. - SME Innovation
Andrea Haworth & team at Congenica Ltd: A genome analytics platform for rapid and accurate genomic interpretation and diagnosis of genetic disorders.
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For more information please contact:
Zyme Communications
Sarah Jeffery
E-mail: sarah.jeffery@zymecommunications.com
Phone: +44 (0) 7771 730919
Health Enterprise East
Chris Armstrong
Email: chris.armstrong@hee.co.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1223 928040
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