Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the Urology Trade Association, and governor of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, highlights a new strand of the Department of Health and Social Care work that will help drive developments in the MedTech sector.
Unknown to many, the Innovation Unit is a small team buried within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) established to support and coordinate innovation across partners in the health and care system. The Unit was established earlier this year and will no doubt be important stakeholders in the MedTech sector. The drive towards innovation is a feature of the MedTech Strategy introduced last year.
The purpose of the Innovation Unit is to deliver priority projects that will drive innovation to improve the health and social care outcomes for the public and boost the economy. As its remit is broader than the MedTech Directorate, it is responsible for innovation in all forms. This includes developing new ways of working, investing in and developing new technology, and finding innovative new ways of using existing technology.
According to Fanny Louvier, Innovation Lead for the Unit, presenting at a recent industry liaison meeting, this purpose will be achieved through:
- Clarifying innovation priorities which will shape strategic thinking within the health and care sector
- Consolidating innovation work across DHSC, NHS England and other departments
- Taking on projects to deliver Ministerial priorities that drive innovation
- Promoting and supporting a culture of innovation within DHSC
Perhaps the most interesting workstream of the Innovation Unit is their focus on ‘game changing technology’. The Unit will work closely with industry and other government departments to identify technologies that will make significant contributions to the health and care system, have a global market reach or the potential to disrupt existing ones, and amplify the UK as a global leader in these technologies.
These ‘game changing technologies’ will align to the five critical technologies in the UK’s National Science and Technology Framework, namely: artificial intelligence, genomics, engineering biology, quantum and wearables.
Within these target categories, the Unit will develop cross-government initiatives to deliver strategic investment and target key leverage points to influence and direct industry towards health and social care needs.
The Innovation Unit will support the MedTech Directorate and DHSC in the delivery of the Government’s three Health Mission priorities: Hospital to Home, Analogue to Digital, and Sickness to Prevention. And whilst the Unit’s origins predate the change in government, there’s no doubt that it can drive Wes Streeting’s commitment to DHSC being a Department for growth as part of the Labour government’s stated priorities for the economy, and make a big contribution to addressing the ambitions of forthcoming new Ten Year Plan for the NHS currently being developed to address the challenges so clearly identified in the recent Darzi Report on the state of the National Health Service in England.
Comments upon or questions about this article can be addressed to chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com
