Yesterday, The Rt Hon. Professor, Lord Darzi of Denham published his ‘Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England’ report.
“This report identifies and recognises the challenging context that the NHS workforce operates in day in, day out. It exposes some of the difficulties that patients experience when they turn to the NHS for help, and the complexities in our current care delivery model. It is only through the effective implementation of innovation across the NHS and community settings that we can move forward from the findings of the report.
The Health Innovation Network has over a decade of experience delivering innovation locally and nationally to improve patient outcomes. Innovative projects focused on tackling inequalities, reducing waiting lists and moving care from hospitals to homes have demonstrated the huge potential innovation has to support the productivity of the NHS and the health of the nation. We must focus on supporting implementation and adoption of innovation to tackle some of the challenges highlighted by Lord Darzi’s review.”
[Note: The Health Innovation Network Chair Richard Stubbs was a contributor to Lord Darzi’s independent investigation of the NHS in England via its Expert Reference Group].
Health Innovation East, as the innovation arm of the NHS in the East of England, is committed to implementing great ideas that make a difference not only for our health, but also for the region’s economic prosperity. To find our more about our impact, in numbers read our 2023/24 Impact Review.
During 2023/24 we have part-funded or collaborated with Heads of Innovation in fourICSs – Suffolk and North East Essex, Bedfordshire Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK), Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and Norfolk and Waveney. In each instance, the role promotes the piloting and adoption of innovations according to the needs of local populations. Not only are the heads of innovation closely integrated with the infrastructure of their ICS to optimise the chances of success, but they are also connected to Health Innovation Network colleagues around the country. Their work spans culture and behaviour change, building local networks, encouraging innovative colleagues and engaging industry for the best possible patient impact.
PainChek, uses AI to recognise and measure small changes in facial expressions and people’s voices to quantify a pain score and guide carers to provide the correct care (1).
The innovation supports people who are unable to reliably verbalise pain. Early identification and treatment of the causes of pain can help reduce hospital admissions and ensure medications are used appropriately. This year PainChek will be made available to care staff in Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes, working with adults living in care settings – 1,000 people will be assessed. In a previous evaluation 85% of respondents reported an improved ability to identify pain, increased knowledge of how pain affects people with dementia or cognitive impairments and improved health outcomes for care home residents (2).
Read more about our work supporting system transformation here
(1) Babicova, I. et al. (2021). Evaluation of the Psychometric Properties of PainChek® in UK Aged Care Residents with advanced dementia. BMC Geriatrics. 21(1). [Online]. Available at:
www.researchgate.net/publication/351949907_Evaluation_of_the_Psychometric_Properties_of_PainChekR_in_UK_Aged_Care_Residents_with_advanced_dementia [Accessed 7 May 2024].
(2) KPMG. (2022). National Rollout of PainChek. [Online]. www.paincheck.com. Last Updated: December 2022. Available at: www.painchek.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/
PainChek_Evaluation_Insights-Summary.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2024]
Do you have a great idea that could deliver meaningful change in the real world?
Get involved