The Scottish Health Technologies Group, a national health technology assessment agency, has reported positively on the SARUS-CPR hood invented by NHS Tayside’s Medical Director, Professor Peter Stonebridge

The Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) provides advice to NHS Scotland on the use of new and existing health technologies that are likely to have significant implications for people’s care. SHTG’s SARUS findings – in the form of an Innovative Medical Technology Overview (IMTO) – will now allow NHS Tayside to formally adopt the hood into clinical practice.

Among key findings, it was found that the technical tasks of performing CPR using a mannequin were conducted “equally well with the hood employed when compared with the use of standard CPR equipment.”

The SARUS-CPR hood is an example of Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL), now InnoScot Health, working collaboratively with NHS Tayside and outdoor clothing specialist Keela International to create an innovative, commercial product which provides a simple solution to globally relevant disease transmission risks faced by CPR personnel.

The small, lightweight hood made from transparent fabric creates a barrier between the patient and the individual performing resuscitation. It reduces the risk of contamination and infection from bacteria and viruses such as COVID-19.

The hood has been designed to allow trained CPR responders to easily fit it onto a collapsed patient as soon as they arrive on the scene. This helps to also reduce the time taken to initiate airway ventilation and makes resuscitation much safer for both patients and personnel.

The SARUS-CPR hood can be used by trained personnel in a wide range of settings, including hospitals, GP surgeries and ambulances.

The positive IMTO – a high-level summary of the evidence surrounding an innovative technology, offering an early indication of strengths and weaknesses – will further allow Keela to commence selling the hoods.

SHTG and SHIL (InnoScot Health) have a shared desire to drive forward innovations in collaboration with a multitude of stakeholders. SHTG is keen to support the process of assessing health technologies based on the needs of NHS Scotland.

SHTG, part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland, is also delighted to announce the launch of its new website www.shtg.scot making it easier to request SHTG support, view SHTG published advice and keep up to date with HTA developments.

If you would like to find out more about how SHTG go about providing HTA support for innovative technologies, please get in touch using [email protected].