Blogs

As February is the month of love, Dr Julia Reynolds at the Innovation Agency gets to the heart of the matter of atrial fibrillation – an irregular heart beat which can lead to stroke

I was very pleased to see the prevention of strokes taking a high priority in the Long Term Plan.  Preventing stroke has been a particular passion of mine since I was a ‘wet behind the ears’ teenager on a work placement prior to joining the training programme to be an Occupational Therapist (OT). 

Seeing the natural environment as a crucial source of wellbeing is something that we all intuitively know; we all feel better from a walk in the park or round a lake... and yet this is still an area of innovation for the health service.

A digital story on ECO 16: Digital Health in the North.

Another year has rolled around and an invite once again popped into my inbox during the summer to help judge the prestigious HSJ Awards.

Last year as a first-time judge I received a fascinating insight into some of the fantastic innovations that had been developed and were being evidenced up and down the country – from large industry players with ever more integrated and intelligent image management and diagnosis solutions, to handheld 3D laser wound scanning, pressure ulcer early detection and Urolift from the NHS Innovation and Technology Tariff programme.

Many of England’s 21 specialist trusts have created international reputations for academic and clinical excellence, and successfully recruit specialists from around the world. They also score higher than other trusts in ratings for performance and patient satisfaction.

I paused, motionless while I sat reflecting…..

It's easy to forget how significant time is when you’re not in a hospital bed. For a patient, time is everything. The time you wake, the time you have your breakfast, the time you’re due to have your scans or others tests - and of course visiting time

Integrated care is a key focus for all health and social care systems, yet efforts in the past to truly integrate care have often glanced over the importance of the wider determinants of health and the broader health of our local populations.  

Sometimes an offer seems too good to be true; that may seem to be the case for a set of innovations being provided for free to health providers across England.