News

£10k in funding available for innovations impacting patient care in Herefordshire and Worcestershire

Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICS has shared an opportunity for innovators to receive up to £10,000 in funding for projects making a positive impact on patient care in the region through the Dr Carl Ellson Clinical Innovation Fund, set up in memory of a local health leader.

Applications for suggested projects, processes, products or pathways are welcomed from any organisation, group or individual. They will be measured against key criteria such as feasibility, long-term sustainability and value for money, with the fund particularly welcoming applications that utilise digital tools or technology, focus on vulnerable groups, and emphasise collaborative working.

The funding is intended for a one-off project, to be delivered within six months, and the deadline to apply is 6 September 2024. Click here for more information.

Opportunities elsewhere

In July, HTN reported that Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Healthcare launched competitions seeking innovations in antimicrobial resistance, women’s health, stroke care and urgent and emergency care, with the aim of accelerating the uptake of innovations and facilitating the collection of evidence in real-world settings.

Earlier in the summer, we highlighted how Innovate UK is working with West Yorkshire Combined Authority to offer a share of up to £500,000 for innovation projects, with the funding to support small and micro businesses grow their innovation activities in the health technologies cluster in West Yorkshire.

In wider procurement opportunities, we reported that West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust is looking to procure remote patient monitoring services and hardware worth an estimated £300,000; Black Country ICB is set to procure a digital inequalities support service worth around £354,000; and Norfolk and Waveney ICB seeks expressions of interest from suppliers for  a digital offer for children and young people’s mental health, worth approximately £1.17 million over three years.

Integrated care systems: in the spotlight

In other news from ICSs across the country, yesterday we explored insights and data from Coventry and Warwickshire around a project aiming to tackle health inequalities for people with severe mental illness.

HTN examined an update on the joint forward plan from Norfolk and Waveney, which sets out how data is being used to measure progress and completion of ambitions.

We previously highlighted the launch of a digital discharge planner from Sussex ICS, aiming to improve information sharing across teams.

And for more insight on digital and data across integrated care systems, check out our ICS Index: a place for the latest news on each of the systems, and also home to our recent feature series exploring digital and data across each ICS.