Launch event marks £3m of investment for innovative HealthTech to transform emergency care
The new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Emergency and Acute Care marked its official opening with a launch event in Manchester, as it sets out on a journey to drive life-changing research into new health technologies across Greater Manchester and beyond.
Hosted by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), and led by HRC Director, Dr Tim Felton, the NIHR HRC in Emergency and Acute Care was awarded £2.9m of funding from the NIHR from 1 April 2024.
Over the next five years, the HRC will work collaboratively with innovators to co-develop novel technology solutions, for better diagnosis, treatments, and care for patients. Bringing together NHS clinicians, academics, and the HealthTech industry, along with patients and the public, the HRC will test, evaluate, and commercialise new healthcare technologies to increase the speed, scale, and improvements in urgent and emergency care in the community and hospitals.
Lord James O’Shaughnessy, former Health Minister delivered the event’s keynote speech, championing Manchester’s research and innovation achievements and ambitions in generating new and pioneering health technologies.
This follows his national review in 2023 into commercial clinical trials in the UK, which highlighted that Greater Manchester had not just “bucked the trend” of falling trial participation, but significantly increased it.
Lord O’Shaughnessy said:
“The NHS is reliant on HealthTech to provide the best care possible and has a strong history of pioneering revolutionary treatments. It’s fantastic to hear how the NIHR HRC in Emergency and Acute Care will help bring the latest advances in medical technology into our emergency and acute care settings, through collaboration with innovators and commercial partners.
“Where Manchester leads, others follow and I look forward to seeing what the HRC team in Manchester bring forward next, to address some of the most pressing health challenges in the country.”
The launch event saw 100 people in attendance, including NHS clinicians, innovators, and commercial partners, to hear the aims and ambitions of the HRC. An array of speakers presented at the event including MFT Group Chief Executive, Mark Cubbon, HRC Theme Leads and a public contributor, Rachel Corry, who highlighted the importance of involving patients and the public in the development of novel health tech.
*Almost 70,000 people visit emergency departments (A&E), walk-in-centres and minor injuries units each day in England, with more than 12,000 patients admitted to hospital. Across the NHS, new health technology has the potential to revolutionise healthcare.
Mark Cubbon, Group Chief Executive at MFT said:
“Urgent and emergency care services are under significant pressure across the country. This is why new HealthTech innovations focused on easing this pressure, and ensuring our patients are getting the right treatment at the right time, is so important.
“We have a proud history of pioneering research and innovation in Manchester and the HRC will support our ability to scale up innovation across the North West and enhance our national and international reputation.
“The HRC brings great opportunity to make an even greater difference for the benefit of our patients and to tackle help health inequalities for the diverse communities we serve.”
The Centre will support innovators to navigate the complex health and care system, working collaboratively to generate evidence, evaluate, and validate new innovative health technologies to meet regulatory approvals and be adopted into clinical practice at a faster pace. This will also enable the demonstration of financial value and improvements to operational efficiency in the NHS.
Dr Tim Felton, Director of the NIHR HRC in Emergency and Acute Care said:
“We will build on our extensive inhouse expertise in this field to co-develop new and pioneering technologies at scale and pace, with our patients at the heart of everything we do.
“We look forward to future collaborations with companies who attended the launch event and hope to attract innovators from across the UK and internationally to co-develop the future of healthcare technologies, which will make a real difference in emergency care and acute care.
“The HRC will give us a greater scope and focus to do this, by providing an infrastructure which streamlines the process, allowing rapid development and turning research into a reality for the benefit of patients, the NHS, and the economy.”
During the launch, Rachel Corry, a public contributor, shared her personal experiences of taking part in research to provide a patient perspective following the premature birth of her newborn baby, and how she has since championed patient and public voices as part of healthcare development.
Rachel said:
“I was pleased to be invited to the HRC launch event to share my experiences of being involved with research, and it was great to hear how the HRC in Emergency and Acute Care plan to involve the public and patients in their research projects.
“Having patient and public involvement in research is crucial and I would encourage others to get involved as your voice and experiences will help shape the future of health technology and healthcare for the benefit of others.”
The HRC will comprise of four themes, split into two clusters. The Clinical Cluster (Themes 1 and 2) will focus on patient care pathways, bridging the gap between community, primary and secondary care. Themes 1 and 2 will focus on technologies that could ease pressure on healthcare services, provide a quicker diagnosis and ensure patients receive the right treatments or care sooner.
The Methodology Cluster (Themes 3 and 4) will determine the needs and barriers which may be encountered within urgent care which need to be understood and addressed in order to achieve successful development and deployment of new health technologies.
The NIHR HRC in Emergency and Acute Care is one of 14 HRCs across England. Visit the NIHR HRC in Emergency and Acute Care website for more information.