Annual Review 2025

handshake

handshake Introduction

Our Chair Louise Robson explains how our innovative projects illustrate the ambitions set out in our new strategy, while our Chief Executive Dr Phil Jennings describes the continuing power of collaboration to bring creative ideas to life.

Message from our Chair

Welcome to the latest edition of our Annual Review. I hope you’ll agree it’s a compelling record of our achievements in the field of innovation in the last 12 months.

The success of our work at Health Innovation North West Coast largely depends on our ability to develop deep and lasting relationships with our local partners.

Collaboration is the cornerstone of successful innovation, and I’m pleased to say in the past year we have launched a series of collaborative events that bring together health and care leaders and the innovators in industry who can help us tackle the specific challenges facing our local populations and providers.

These events took place in both Lancashire and South Cumbria and Cheshire and Merseyside, and they featured colleagues from our universities who bring to our collaborations invaluable academic experience, innovations and insights.

We intend stepping up the frequency of these events in the coming year and will continue to focus on specific themes, reflecting our stakeholders’ priorities.

Our view is that healthcare innovations with the potential to transform lives benefit greatly from local champions and our Annual Review illustrates some important examples of this collaborative approach.

I’m sure we’ll report back next year with news of further productive relationships.

Cover picture courtesy of Hocoma

Message from our Chief Executive

Every year is a period of change and upheaval in the world of health and care, but nobody would deny that the last 12 months have been particularly turbulent. The merger of NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care is under way and the exact outlines of the future landscape will be unclear for some time yet.

But we can say with confidence that innovation will be key to the future of care for the more than four million people who live in our region. Prof Sir Stephen Powis, National Medical Director at NHS England, said as much when he delivered the keynote speech at our North West Coast Research and Innovation Awards. The awards are themselves tangible evidence that the spirit of innovation is thriving in our region.

Our Annual Review highlights examples of how we’re driving the adoption and spread of transformative innovations. That means acting as a bridge between our community of innovators and the health and care organisations who stand to benefit from their work. That in turn has a positive impact on local economies.

When the Government announced its three shifts in healthcare – from analogue to digital, from treatment to prevention, and from hospital to community – the 15 health innovation networks felt well placed to support those ambitions. I’m confident that when I present next year’s Annual Review you’ll see how far we’ve progressed to meet that agenda.

Email: info@healthinnovationnwc.nhs.uk
X: @innovationnwc
In: Health Innovation North West Coast
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Meet the team behind Health Innovation North West Coast Read more

beenhere

beenhere Patient safety and care improvement

NHS England commissions us and our partner health innovation networks to deliver a series of programmes in various clinical areas to improve patient outcomes. We in the North West Coast also host the Patient Safety Collaborative which identifies and implements safer care initiatives.

Cardiovascular disease

Respiratory care

Maternity and women's health

Mental health services

Medicines safety

finance_mode

finance_mode Strengthening local economies

We have a role in strengthening our regional economy by supporting innovators whose work can help us meet health and care challenges. That support includes identifying potential funding sources, assessing and evaluating healthcare innovations, and introducing innovators to decision-makers who might benefit from their work. The Office for Life Sciences commissions this work and the following links highlight the breadth and depth of our support to the North West Coast economy.

Evaluations and assessments

Innovator support

component_exchange

component_exchange Supporting our systems

We support our colleagues in the North West Coast health and care community in many ways. Our Coaching Academy trains coaches and delivers expert facilitation to provide opportunities for partners to collaborate and innovate. Our Events Team stages numerous events to support innovators and the wider healthcare community, while our Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement team ensures the patient’s perspective is at the heart of all our projects and our partners’ work. The following items highlight our support for system colleagues.