The report, “Creating change: Innovation health and wealth one year on” provides an update on the implementation of the NHS Chief Executive’s report “Innovation health and wealth, accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS” published in December 2011. Highlights with respect to AHSNs are given below
Excerpt from the Introduction from Sir David Nicholson –
“15 new Academic Health Science Networks will be up and running in the new financial year and will drive innovation at pace and scale”;
and on page 5: Creating a system to deliver innovation
The NHS needs a stronger relationship with the scientific and academic communities and industry to develop solutions to health care problems and get existing solutions spread at pace and scale. IHW committed the NHS to establish a number of Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) across the country. AHSNs present a unique opportunity to align education, clinical research, informatics, innovation, training and education and healthcare
delivery. They will improve patient and population health outcomes by translating research into practice, developing, and implementing, integrated healthcare services. Expressions of interest were received from 16 prospective AHSNs in September, with 15 getting the go-ahead to proceed to full designation. That process is now underway, and will require each prospective AHSN to set out (in its application) its plan for its first 5 years including what they will do to support the Comply or Explain regime, how they will work with SMEs on medical technology projects, how they will drive innovation at pace and scale, and how they will support and increase opportunities for patients to take part in research. We expect all AHSNs to be in place by Quarter 1 of 2013.
Establishing organisations of this size and scope within 9 months would be a significant undertaking at any time. Given the level of change the NHS is experiencing it is testament to the commitment of the NHS and its academic, industry and research partners that such substantial progress has been made.
and on page 9: Next Steps
The first Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) will become operational from April 2013. All Clinical Commissioning Groups and our own direct commissioners should be members of an AHSN. The AHSNs will present a unique opportunity to align education, clinical research, informatics, innovation, training and education and healthcare delivery. Their goal is to improve patient and population health outcomes by translating research into practice and developing and implementing integrated health care services. Working with Academic Health Science Centres, they will identify innovations and spread their use at pace and scale through their networks.