News and blogs

Earlier this month I had the privilege to attend the inaugural Women in Life Sciences Forum, facilitated by the American Pharmaceutical Group, with support from 10 Downing Street and the Office for Life Sciences.

The Cheshire and Merseyside Care Home Academy brought together system leaders in the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and local authorities to recruit staff from 13 care homes in the region for a series of learning sessions on workplace culture, quality improvement and leadership.The system leaders participated in the shared learning to support improvement in the care homes.

A new social care database is being used by 50 GP practices in Cheshire to signpost patients to support, advice and social opportunities – improving local health and wellbeing. 

The £1.9 million Health Matters programme will help businesses take advantage of knowledge and expertise in the partnership to help develop solutions to challenges, receive guidance on funding opportunities and navigate the health ecosystem. The programme will also provide real-world validation of products and services, showing evidence of impact and benefits.

Come and hear how health data is used in harmony with research, from making sure that stroke patients are identified and treated as quickly as possible to improving care for children with asthma, at a free live performance of #MusicSaysDataSavesLives.

Healthcare Business Connect Lancashire (HBCL), in which the Innovation Agency is a partner, recently ran their third SME showcase event with local members of the U3A in Ulverston. 

On a day to day basis, healthcare staff are applying the four core principles of ethics that are ingrained in them, namely autonomy, justice, beneficence and non-maleficence. However, new technologies and big data bring added complexities to an NHS that is already awash with ethical dilemmas where utilitarian and deontological principles conflict and cause stress for hard pressed staff.

Health Innovation North West Coast has relaunched the Health Innovation North West Coast Exchange, our online forum for colleagues across the healthcare sector to share innovations and challenges. The expanded website now enables users to collaborate on ideas, projects and products to improve patient care. 

Every single day in health and care organisations catastrophes are prevented from occurring. This is not just down to the fact that people are highly trained, but also because they work in teams where they are able to speak out when they see a problem.

Psychological safety is the term that describes this phenomenon; it is where people in teams are not afraid to admit mistakes and where problems are seen as learning opportunities. 

At the Innovation Agency we have a mission to help people live longer, healthier lives. 

This means preventing them from becoming ill, or if they become ill, ensuring that they can live with health conditions in a way that helps them to have a full, meaningful life.