News and blogs

Inspiring collaborations from across the north which have helped patients and the NHS cope with the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have been recognised in the 2021 NHS in the North Excellence in Supply Awards.

The number of Blackpool mums classed as smokers when they give birth has shown a dramatic decrease.

Up to 3,000 women give birth in Blackpool each year. The percentage classed as smokers once stood at 31 per cent. Now the figure is closer to 21 per cent and falling, making the resort one of the most improved areas in the country.

Research shared by the Innovation Agency, the Academic Science Network for the north west coast, has helped provide the Blackpool team with additional insight to help mums make potentially life-changing decisions.

After dragging on for years Brexit finally happened and, having worked on European-funded activities since the beginning of the 1990s, I have to confess I’d hoped it would never happen.

The finalists have been announced for this year’s NHS in the North Excellence in Supply Awards with the 2021 event set to be the best yet.

The awards celebrate inspirational examples of businesses and the NHS working together to provide great patient care, many of which have helped to combat the effects of the pandemic.

A woman lost her son after he was restrained in a seclusion room in a London hospital. She told her story at an event I attended recently and it underlined the importance of the work I am now undertaking.

The Innovation Agency is supporting this week’s Know Your Numbers initiative, a week-long (6th-12th September 2021) campaign to raise awareness of high blood pressure and the wider issue of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

CVD, which includes heart attacks and strokes, causes a quarter of all deaths in the UK and is of significant concern in the North West. Nationally it has been identified as the single biggest area where the NHS can save lives over the next 10 years.

As a trained audiologist, I’m used to helping people communicate.

It is a brilliant skill to have and one I have called on frequently as part of my work as a Programme Manager with the Innovation Agency.

My role is to help encourage the spread and adoption of innovations in Lancashire and south Cumbria. 

Two projects run by the Innovation Agency are in the running for a top award after emerging as favourites in the HSJ Awards 2021.

Work to reduce the incidence of asthma in one area of Merseyside and a second to identify irregular heartbeats to prevent strokes have both been shortlisted as part of the awards, which recognise outstanding contribution to healthcare.

As difficult as the pandemic has been, the Enterprise and Growth Team here at the Innovation Agency have had our busiest year ever, working with nearly double the number of companies we worked with before COVID-19.

Reflecting on a year like no other in health and care has been a time to re-evaluate our role in supporting our local systems, partners and national NHS commissioners.