Encouraging local innovation with NHS Grampian
Targeted regional solutions
The NHS workforce are key agents of change, and whilst submissions for innovative ideas are always welcome through the InnoScot Health website, complementing this with targeted regional solutions helps to improve awareness, engagement and results.
Innovation competition
In April 2023, InnoScot Health and NHS Grampian teamed up to launch a local innovation competition to stimulate innovative thinking and problem solving in this diverse region with unique healthcare requirements.
The competition was based on peer-reviewed research, similar to those run at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston. The competition was open to all staff members — in any role and from any department — with entries evaluated by InnoScot Health and NHS Grampian.
Winning entries
Rachel Allanach, Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary was the overall winner with a seating solution to assist acute and community therapists working with patients. In further support for collaborative innovation, Heriot-Watt University Engineering students took this on delivering a report and prototype in April 2024. Commercial partners are now being sought to translate this idea into a final product.
Runner-up was Clare Tarr who stood out with her fresh approach to helping staff undertake flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), an advanced skill during which a thin, flexible instrument passes through the nose. Students at Glasgow School of Art have worked on a prototype which is now being reviewed for commercial feasibility.
We are proud to support this initiative which encourages our innovative staff to express their ideas about how the care they provide could be improved.
Andy Keen, Clinical Lead for Innovation, NHS Grampian
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