The NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) welcomes the publication of the NHS Long Term Plan today, recognising its strong commitment to the adoption and spread of innovation for patient benefit.

The Long Term Plan sets out continued support for the NIA, which was launched in 2015 to help create the conditions and cultural change necessary for proven innovations to be adopted faster and more systematically in the NHS. An NHS England initiative delivered in partnership with the Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and hosted at UCLPartners, the NIA has supported the spread of 37 high impact, evidence-based innovations – many addressing the major health care conditions and efficiency challenges prioritised within the Plan. These innovations are now being used in almost 1,500 additional NHS sites.

Acknowledging the different business models for innovation, the Long Term Plan highlights support for those seeking to drive quality improvement through non-commercial models. Having supported a number of clinical intrapreneurs to address their specific challenges in scaling non-commercial innovations, the NIA has been widely sharing our learning and also expanding our contribution in supporting these innovators.

With an announcement in the Long Term Plan for the introduction of a simpler, clearer innovation system, the NIA will continue to work closely with AHSN partners to optimise alignment and provide a pipeline to other initiatives; such as AHSN National Programmes, the Innovation and Technology Payment (ITP) and the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC).

In line with the Long Term Plan’s commitment to supporting global export, the NIA continues to work closely with Healthcare UK and the Department for International Trade to support the overseas spread of NIA innovations. To date, 23 NIA innovations are selling internationally.

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