“Innovation is critical to enabling NHS England to achieve its ambitions in reducing healthcare inequalities. I look forward to seeing what new ideas and solutions come in to help us drive progress for the individuals and communities most at risk of healthcare inequalities.“
Bola Owolabi, Director of the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme at NHS England

Open now – targeted and time-limited call out to identify solutions that can help de-bias the scoring and stratification systems across three clinical settings: maternity, sickle cell and elective care.

In this unique collaboration, the NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) is proud to be supporting NHS England Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme (HiQiP) and the NHS Race and Health Observatory (RHO). The aim is to drive ground-breaking innovations that target key areas of healthcare disparities, aligning with the Core20PLUS5 approach and other NHS England and RHO priority areas. This will be delivered through a time-limited and targeted call out for applications to the NHS Innovation Accelerator.

We are seeking innovation proposals addressing healthcare inequalities, especially in relation to population groups and major conditions in NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 approach to reducing healthcare inequalities and additional NHS England and RHO priority areas.

Inequalities in the healthcare landscape continues to present significant challenges in key areas, which include – but are not limited to – maternity, sickle cell disease management, and elective care. These critical themes demand innovative solutions that can improve outcomes and ensure better healthcare experiences for individual, and families affected by these conditions.

The application window is open now and will close on 31 July at midnight. Applications need to be submitted via https://nhsaccelerator.com/apply and comply with the NIA standard of submissions, which can be found in the NIA FAQs. Solutions will be reviewed by independent assessors and the core team of this initiative.

Applicants will undergo the identical NIA pre-screening, NICE and MHRA input and maturity review as per the usual application process for the NIA Fellowship, minus the last stage of interviews. By doing this, the NIA team ensures that anything put forward by the collective selection committee is mature and ready to be implemented.

Selected companies and individuals can look forward to an array of compelling benefits and opportunities. The selected participants will gain connection with the 7 integrated care systems (ICSs) currently participating in NHS England’s Core20PLUS Accelerator programme. These ICSs have received funding and support from NHS England and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to develop and enhance their healthcare inequalities improvement knowledge and skills, meaning they are best-placed to facilitate adoption and scaling of selected innovations.

Companies will also gain a fast track to NIA fellowship interviews in January 2024, which if successful will mean they become an NIA Fellow, providing a unique chance to showcase their innovations and connect with influential healthcare stakeholders.

 

Further information
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