The way primary care services are delivered is changing, with different specialists on hand via GP practices and with a growing number of diagnostic tests, screening and treatments available in community pharmacies. We explore what’s in store for primary care in Cheshire and Merseyside after the launch of a new strategic framework which offers a ti…

For anyone involved in an emergency or needing urgent treatment, the experience can be scary and prolonged. For those who have cancer, the prospect is far more daunting. In Cheshire and Merseyside, health leaders have collaborated to create pathways and processes which ensure that cancer patients can avoid visits to A&E and potentially long stays i…

Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE talks about the passions and experiences which have shaped his leadership, as he prepares to step down after ten years as Chair of the Innovation Agency. A former researcher and author on race relations; Liverpool City Council Labour leader; chair of Liverpool Primary Care Trust; and champion of the natural environment, Gideon …

Changes to the way diagnostic tests and screening are carried out in Cheshire and Merseyside mean many more tests are being carried out in more centres around the region. A system-wide transformation programme has streamlined processes and introduced a new, flexible staffing system, while improving access to tests for patients. Guests Liz Bishop an…

An entrepreneurial doctor whose company is backed by the Innovation Agency, has become an Innovation Fellow with the NHS Innovation Accelerator. Dr Michael Watts has helped to create a patient-centred, emergency-support software system designed to improve safety in maternity - Emergency Role Allocation (ERA). ERA was the brainchild of midwife Carol…

This episode explores innovations in cardiovascular disease management being delivered to patients in primary care. In particular, the conversation focusses on lipids management and the introduction of a new treatment pathway which includes novel therapies. Innovation Agency chief executive Dr Phil Jennings talks to Dr Jim Moore, GP and president o…

The Innovation Agency is working with NHS Cheshire and Merseyside to help people at increased risk because of the combination of suffering a respiratory or cardiovascular condition and living in a cold home. It’s part of NHS England’s Innovation for Healthcare Inequalities Programme (InHIP) which seeks to address local healthcare inequalities exper…

The family of a 29 year old Cheshire man who died suddenly from heart failure have been diagnosed with a genetic condition which causes abnormally high levels of cholesterol. The condition is familial hypercholesterolaemia, or FH; and the family of the late Mike Clarke have now been tested for FH at a new screening service for Cheshire and Merseysi…

A significant number of people across the North West Coast are unaware that they have high blood pressure. And during the pandemic, the British Heart Foundation reported that nearly half a million people in the UK missed out on starting medication to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. In this podcast, Dr Andy Knox, a GP in Lancashire and Cumbr…

Asthma presents a continuing challenge across primary care and research has shown that despite best efforts the numbers of patients who require optimisation and access to advanced therapies remains high. The Liverpool Severe Asthma Service (LSAS), which covers Cheshire and Merseyside, has been accelerating access to specialist care for asthma patie…

The Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) sets out a new NHS approach to developing and maintaining effective systems and processes for responding to patient safety incidents, for the purpose of learning and improving patient safety. In the north west, a collaboration involving NHS England, Aqua, Health Innovation Manchester and the In…

Helping establish productive links between businesses and health and social care to benefit patients is just one of the roles of the Innovation Agency's Enterprise and Growth team. At this autumn's Healthcare Excellence Through Technology conference in London, a number of businesses who have capitalised on close ties with the team exhibited their w…

One of the keynote speakers at the Innovation Agency Bridging the Gap event was Lindsey Hughes, Director of Research and Engagement in the Innovation, Research and Life Sciences Group and Accelerated Access Collaborative at NHS England. Bridging the Gap was one of a series of events held by different AHSNs around the country and featured workshops …

Healthcare innovators and NHS leaders were brought together at the Innovation Agency’s Bridging the Gap event in Liverpool. The event was one of a series of events held by different AHSNs around the country and featured workshops and presentations aimed at supporting businesses and clinical entrepreneurs to progress or spread their innovations. Thi…

The Bridging the Gap conference heard from successful clinician and entrepreneur, Dr Mark Ratnarajah, who shared his story of combining his work as a paediatrician with building businesses. He is managing director of C2-Ai, a system which is recognised as providing best practice in waiting list and referral management by the NHS Getting It Right Fi…

An innovator who started building a prototype in a bedroom and went on to build a med tech company now exporting worldwide, told his story at the Bridging the Gap event in Liverpool. Jordan Van Flute of Inovus Medical shared his experiences and lessons learned along the way, to inspire innovators attending the conference. View a gallery of photos, …

Delegates to the Bridging the Gap event heard how the University of Central Lancashire is playing a major role in supporting innovation in the North West Coast. Professor StJohn Crean, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, who is an honorary consultant in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Blackpool Victoria Hospital and the University Ho…

Realising the benefits of remote monitoring Identifying the benefits of using technology to monitor care outside hospital is vital in securing support and investment for spreading its use. This includes benefits to patients and carers and benefits to staff and health and care budgets. This presentation at the Bridging the Gap event offered insights…

Efforts to tackle the lasting effects of the pandemic were considered by delegates at the Healthcare Excellence Through Technology event held at the Excel Centre in London. Dr Phil Jennings, Chief Executive of the Innovation Agency, chaired a discussion to consider what support can be offered to reduce the backlog of operations. His guests included…

Clinicians in primary and secondary care in Cheshire and Merseyside have signed up to a new protocol setting out principles to guide how they will interact with each other. The guide is aimed at improving communications between staff in hospitals and GP surgeries, for the benefit of patients. Innovation Agency Chief Executive and GP Dr Phil Jenning…

One of the big challenges facing innovators in the NHS is how to get the funding and support to turn a great idea or prototype into reality. In this podcast, two inspiring individuals talk about how they are helping innovators to realise their dreams. Professor Tony Young OBE, National Clinical Lead for Innovation NHS England and NHS Improvement an…

Core20PLUS5 and the Innovation Agency Core20PLUS5 is a national NHS England and NHS Improvement approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort – the ‘Core20PLUS’ – and identifies five clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. Eileen O’Meara, Clinica…

A shortlist of proposals for the New Hospitals Programme in Lancashire and South Cumbria has been announced. This is a significant development for the programme, which plans to develop new, cutting-edge facilities, offering the absolute best in modern healthcare and addressing significant problems with the ageing Royal Preston Hospital and Royal La…

New parents in Cheshire and Merseyside are being brought together with musicians to create lullabies for their babies in a creative health project which has been imported from New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Lullaby Project is being delivered by the charity Live Music Now through the Cheshire and Merseyside Women and Children’s Partnership, funded by…

Mums, musicians and lullabies – and the health benefits New parents in Cheshire and Merseyside are being brought together with musicians to create lullabies for their babies in a creative health project which has been imported from New York’s Carnegie Hall. The Lullaby Project is being delivered by the charity Live Music Now through the Cheshire an…

It’s the biggest cause of disability and premature death in the UK yet, in some cases, early diagnosis of high blood pressure could help reduce the numbers affected. Home blood pressure monitoring, or BP@Home, has been launched in the North West Coast and across England. The process enables patients to remotely record their blood pressure without v…

As we digest the outcomes of COP26, this podcast with one of the North West’s leading academics on sustainability shares some important lessons for organisations starting on the journey to net zero. Professor John Whitton is the Director of the Research Centre for Sustainable Transitions at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) and attended …

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an inherited condition which can lead to extremely high cholesterol levels. It's passed down through families and without treatment, FH can lead to heart disease at a very young age. But it can be treated with medicines and a healthy lifestyle - the key is diagnosis. A pilot scheme supported by the Innovation …

The man who leads the organisation which won recognition at the recent NHS in the North Excellence in Supply Awards has been talking about how the innovative use of digital technology is changing lives. Health Call's systems allow care home staff to remotely monitor residents’ health, quickly identify signs of illness, and make electronic referrals…

A care home manager and a care home owner in Lancashire share their pandemic experiences and talk about plans to improve the way information about patients flows between the NHS and social care. They are part of a programme to introduce digital systems which can be accessed by different parts of the NHS and social care, made possible with funding f…

The number of Blackpool mums classed as smokers when they give birth has shown a dramatic decrease. Up to 3,000 women give birth in Blackpool each year. The percentage classed as smokers once stood at 31 per cent. Now the figure is closer to 21 per cent and falling, making the resort one of the most improved areas in the country. The success is dow…

Collaborations between NHS organisations and their suppliers have resulted in some remarkable examples of innovation as shown by the shortlist for the NHS in the North Excellence in Supply Awards. They include innovative health and wellbeing checks for health staff in York; the creation of a regional hub in the north east to supply vital PPE; the u…

The NHS Clinical Leaders Network has published a call for action to improve the mental health resilience of frontline healthcare staff caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Its report is based on surveys, interviews and action learning sets with clinicians and managers and as well as the call for action, it includes some stark testimoni…

An emergency medicine consultant describes how he and two nurses took action in their own time to help their colleagues cope with the stress of their work. The consultant, Dr Terry McLoughlin of Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, explains how their offer of talking therapy and on-demand yoga and meditation grew from three voluntee…

An NHS leader involved in setting up one of the five Nightingale Hospitals and a mass vaccination centre, made it his mission to create a positive working culture from the start. While the pressure was on to equip and staff two large centres, John Herring made sure there was time to agree a vision, purpose and values. He tells us why it was so impo…

Looking after staff has never been more important as it is during the intense pressures created by the pandemic. In this podcast we hear how one NHS trust is taking a structured approach to supporting colleagues from the earliest signs of anxiety through to post traumatic stress disorder. Our interviewee is Nicole Williams, Deputy Director of Organ…

This is a conversation with Dr Cecil Kullu, a clinical leader in the North West who admits to an insatiable curiosity, always asking questions, exploring innovations - and believing in the power of people to help each other. Dr Kullu FRCpsych is a Consultant Psychiatrist in Liaison Psychiatry and Deputy Medical Director for Research, Innovation and…

Merseyside was at the epicentre of the UK response to COVID-19 when the country’s first quarantine centre for 50 years was set up at Arrowe Park Hospital. It was a case of all hands on deck when different organisations as well as the local community stepped up to the challenge of providing a safe haven for their reluctant guests, returning from Wuh…

Creating music can have a powerful impact on wellbeing; and in the case of Carnegie Hall’s Lullaby Project it is supporting maternal health, aiding childhood development, and strengthening the bond between parent and child. In this podcast, recorded on Zoom, we hear from Tiffany Ortiz, Director of Early Childhood Programs for Carnegie Hall's Weill …

An independent report by The King's Fund author Ben Collins, titled A 'curious experiment' reflects on the challenges and successes of the Innovation Agency over the last seven years. In this podcast, Ben is joined by the founding leaders of the Innovation Agency - Dr Liz Mear and Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE, to discuss his findings. The report can be fou…

The chairs of Local Enterprise Partnerships in Lancashire and in Liverpool City Region have been at the forefront of efforts to support businesses through the pandemic. Steve Fogg and Asif Hamid MBE share their personal experiences as well as those of the LEPs in this interview, recorded on Zoom.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

Two leaders of the Innovation Agency talk about the impact of COVID-19 on themselves and their work; how they pivoted to focus entirely on the needs of the local systems; and their vision of the future healthcare landscape in the North West Coast. The interviewees are Chief Executive Dr Liz Mear and Deputy Chief Executive/Medical Director Dr Phil J…

Jen Kohan describes how to support a culture in the workplace in which innovation can thrive.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

Aviation industry safety expert Gordon Dupont identified 12 elements that influence people to make mistakes – the ‘dirty dozen’. Karla Rimaitis of the Innovation Agency Coaching Academy explains how these are applied in healthcare to reduce risks and keep patients – and staff – safe.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

Karla Rimaitis of the Innovation Agency Coaching Academy, reveals her secrets in running a successful meeting or event, using ‘Liberating Structures’, a set of simple techniques; and shares her top three ways to get people talking.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

Hear from Juliette Kumar about why it is vital to have psychological safety in the workplace in order to get the best out of people.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

Jen Kohan, Head of the Innovation Agency Coaching Academy, has advice for anyone involved in innovation and improvement, on the importance of developing a growth mindset.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

What is coaching in the workplace and why do we need it? Innovation Agency Associate Director for Improvement and Education Juliette Kumar explains how coaching skills can transform the way we work.Av Health Innovation North West Coast

We return to Alder Hey to hear from engineer Dave Collins who created the 3D model of the ‘impossible tumour’ and the trust’s clinical director of innovation Iain Hennessey, about how 3D printing – and other innovations - are pushing the boundaries of what is possible in medicine. This episode was recorded on 27 February 2020.…

Juliette Kumar explores how leaders can maintain an awareness of their own behaviours as they lead through a crisis, offering insights on how to be a compassionate leader with some useful coaching tools for self reflection.Av Health Innovation North West Coast