A new ‘innovator passport’ aims to give NHS patients across the country accelerated access to technology-enabled treatments.
The new digital system, announced by the government, is intended to cut red tape and boost the nation’s life sciences sector.
To be introduced over the next two years, it will allow new technology that has been robustly assessed by one NHS organisation to be easily rolled out to others.
The government says the move is a key part of its Plan for Change and 10 Year Health Plan, which will transfer power to patients and transform how healthcare is delivered, creating an ‘NHS fit for the future’.
Treatments including special wound dressings – already reducing surgical site infections by 38% at Barking, Havering & Redbridge University Hospitals – could be adopted more widely, benefiting patients across the country.
At Barts Health Trust in London, the use of antimicrobial protective coverings for cardiac devices cut infections and saved over £103,000 per year. At University Hospitals Dorset, adopting rapid influenza testing reduced bed days and antibiotic use, freeing up vital resources. MedTech Compass will make these innovations, and the evidence underpinning them, clear to buyers within the NHS.
The new passport aims to eliminate multiple compliance assessments, reducing duplication across the health service. It will be delivered through MedTech Compass, a digital platform developed by DHSC to make effective technologies more visible and widely available.
The initiative builds on the government’s drive to slash waiting lists and ensure people have access to health and care when and where they need it under the Plan for Change.
“For too long, Britain’s leading scientific minds have been held back by needless admin that means suppliers are repeatedly asked for the same data in different formats by different trusts – this is bad for the NHS, patients and bad for business,” said Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
“These innovator passports will save time and reduce duplication, meaning our life sciences sector – a central part of our 10 Year Health Plan – can work hand in hand with the health service and make Britain a powerhouse for medical technology.
“Frustrated patients will no longer have to face a postcode lottery for lifesaving products to be introduced in their area and companies will be able to get their technology used across the NHS more easily, creating a health service fit for [the] future under the Plan for Change.”
Dr Vin Diwakar, clinical transformation director at NHS England, said: “We’re seeing the impact improvements to technology are having on our everyday lives on everything from smartwatches to fitness trackers – and we want to make sure NHS patients can benefit from the latest medical technology and innovations as well.
“The new innovator passports will speed up the roll-out of new health technology in the NHS which has been proven to be effective, so that patients can benefit from new treatments much sooner.”
It may also form an important element of the industrial strategy through the upcoming Life Sciences Sector Plan, which will turbocharge Britain’s life sciences sector and cement the UK’s position as a global innovation leader.
MedTech Compass helps speed up decision-making in trusts, allowing technology to scale faster – making it easier for trusts across the country to find, assess, and adopt proven technologies that improve and speed up patient care.
The passports mean that once a healthcare tool has been assessed by one NHS organisation, further NHS organisations will not be able to insist on repeated assessments, reducing the need for local NHS systems to spend their limited resources on bureaucratic processes that have already been completed elsewhere.