Innovating during trying times

20th April 2020

Following the announcement that the 2020 Bright Ideas in Health Awards will not take place, our Innovation Manager, Mark Taylor, has explained how the AHSN NENC innovation team is still very much open for business, and ready and willing to support innovators in the development of their ideas.

Sadly, I am writing this blog with the backdrop of the Bright Ideas in Health Awards being cancelled in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. However, as much as the biggest regional celebration of innovation in healthcare has been impacted, the amount of innovation and new ideas which are coming out of frontline staff and the healthcare sector has not; it has no doubt increased due to the new ways of working, new demands, the need to be flexible in their working approaches and, unfortunately, shortages in some of the equipment.

Like many of the organisations we work with, the AHSN NENC team is adapting to different methods of working to continue to deliver our offerings, and more, in this current time.

We are currently assisting with calls for various things such as PPE, securing access to 3D printers and ventilator consumables, to name a few. We’re assisting companies who have solutions or technologies which could benefit the NHS during this time or are changing what they are manufacturing to help with the potential shortages the NHS will potentially encounter.

So, if there is anyone reading this who could potentially assist with any of these things or if any of our partner organisations would like assistance, do get in touch with the AHSN NENC.

In addition, any innovators who require assistance with ideas not related to COVID-19, we are still here to offer our support. We continue to help teams with intellectual property, developing an evidence base, market research and case studies. Please remember that during these trying times, we can still assist with the innovative ideas which are coming out of our healthcare sector in the North East and North Cumbria.

If you would like to contact Mark to discuss how the AHSN NENC could support you or organisation, he can be reached at [email protected]