INNOVATION
From left to right; Elizabeth Muir
Project Coordinator
Dr Bryan Griffiths Commercial Services Manager Adrian Warner Alexis Baxter
Market Research Manager
Business Development Manager Market Research Manager
Dr Paul Hanmer Business Development Manager Daniel Zamora
A hub of innovation T
he health service relies on innovation in a number of different
ways. Whether it is the innovations made by ground breaking surgeons, clinicians, managers or ward staff finding a new way to cut waste out of a care pathway, the NHS is reliant on innovation to help maintain and improve standards of care to patients.
Nine innovation hubs were set up essentially to support NHS staff to develop new ideas and to safeguard the value of those ideas for the NHS.
“They all have this impetus to work with NHS staff to develop their ideas and, where possible, to make them a reality,” says Bryan Griffiths, commercial services manager at TrusTECH, the NHS innovation hub for the North West, “such as developing an idea into a prototype in the case of simple technologies. The long lead time for taking an idea from its conception to a product launch can be protracted and the
54 nhe
process of ‘reaping the rewards’ of these innovations back into the hub, and consequently to the NHS, can be slow. So far, it has been very successful across the country.”
“As TrusTECH developed, it became apparent that there were few mechanisms in place to deal with the commercial enquiries and opportunities that were received which led to the development of my role. That was back in August 2007 and over the three years we have grown our commercial service operation into an effective formula which adds value to both parties and is easy for companies to access and understand.
“The commercial services team has a wide variety of experience and boasts two PhDs, two MBAs, a clinical research expert, a six- sigma blackbelt, a chartered marketeer and a registered nurse. The team has since grown to around seven people so it is clear that the demand is there and will continue to grow.”
In an effort to keep innovative ideas within the NHS, a number of innovation hubs have been set up throughout Britain. National Health Executive spoke to Dr Bryan Griffiths to find out more
An important aspect of the service for Brian is that they are not taking money and resources out of the health service because if a company approaches TrusTECH to trial a new device, commission some research or use a clinician’s time, the company is billed for that time and the cost is reimbursed to the NHS.
“If I was approached to test, for example, a new air decontamination device then I might need around ten microbiologists for half a day each which would have implications for the NHS. That means that we cost out our activities strictly but companies understand the value which we provide and so are very happy to pay those costs. When a company approaches us, it is generally with a new product so we sign confidentially agreements – if appropriate – and then they give us a brief of their requirements.
“Sometimes it will be a piece of market research/intelligence or a product evaluation because
Nov/Dec 10
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