The Government has announced a £30m investment in innovative medtech solutions to help ease pressure on the NHS this winter.
Available to each region in England, integrated care systems (ICSs) – organisations which come together in local areas to deliver joined-up health and social care services – will be able to invest in the latest technology that can help cut waiting lists, speed up diagnoses, and deliver new and improved ways of treating patients.
Depending on local need, ICSs could use the funding to expand virtual wards, allowing more patients to receive the care they need at home and freeing up hospital beds.
Over 9,800 virtual ward beds have already been created, and the NHS is on track to meet its target and deliver 10,000 ahead of winter.
It is vital that clinicians have access to the latest technology to save staff time, deliver high-quality care, and help cut waiting lists
ICSs could also invest in wearable medical devices for use by patients at home, to aid diagnoses and management of numerous chronic conditions.
These devices enable the monitoring of vital signs such as blood oxygen levels, heartbeat, and blood pressure.
Alternatively, investing in digital 3D and other imaging technology could bolster diagnostic tests, supporting the NHS to detect and treat cancer and other serious illnesses earlier.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, said: “It is vital that clinicians have access to the latest technology to save staff time, deliver high-quality care, and help cut waiting lists – one of the Government’s top five priorities.
“This investment will see the latest tech innovations rolled out across the NHS.
“From virtual ward beds to wearable medical devices, patients will be better supported, and we will ease pressures on hospitals this winter.
“We’re preparing for this winter earlier than ever before, including delivering thousands more hospital beds and hundreds of new ambulances.”
The NHS’s world-leading ability to adopt new technology has already helped more than 210,000 patients be treated in their own homes through the rollout of virtual wards, and this new funding will allow the health service to adopt more innovations that improve patient care and reduce pressure on wider services
NHS interim national director of transformation, Dr Vin Diwakar, added: “The NHS’s world-leading ability to adopt new technology has already helped more than 210,000 patients be treated in their own homes through the rollout of virtual wards, and this new funding will allow the health service to adopt more innovations that improve patient care and reduce pressure on wider services.
“Local NHS areas, known as integrated care systems, will be able to submit bids to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to access the funds so they can roll out the technology – with applications expected to open this month.”
The new comes after the Government published its Medical Technology Strategy, which set out steps to ensure patients can access safe, effective, and innovative technology through the NHS.
And this built on the £21m artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostics fund, which aims to improve access to the latest AI technology to diagnose and treat patients more quickly.
NHS trusts were invited to bid for funding to accelerate the rollout of the most-promising AI imaging and decision support tools to help diagnose patients more quickly for conditions such as cancer, stroke, and heart conditions.
