There is no set limit. The intention is to rapidly assess all submissions and fast track those with potential. Pregnancy and Perinatal care is a key area for NHS Scotland and we want to harness the talent and experience of all those working in the NHS to improve the quality of care received by patients while also trying to heighten operational efficiency where possible.

All ideas are welcome – from simple to complex, and from any health board and any role or medical discipline.

Innovation in pregnancy and perinatal care is very often, though not always, a new device for managing and monitoring pregnancy.

We also evaluate innovations to improve labour and delivery, and technologies for neonates needing specialist care. Improving outcomes for mothers with co-morbidities especially around diabetes is a further priority, as is support for women experiencing mental health problems before and after delivery.

Where innovators come to us with ideas relating to new processes or services, we endeavour to identify the most appropriate partner agency to support it and take it further forward.

We are particularly looking for innovations that have commercial potential – ones that can be developed as a new product and generate income.

Inventions that are co-developed with non-NHS parties can also be supported by us as long as there is a defined NHS input/staff member involved in the project.

Encouraging NHS Scotland’s diverse workforce to come up with new ideas that achieve better outcomes in pregnancy and perinatal care is vital and at the heart of InnoScot Health’s latest innovation call.

It is essential that we improve the outcomes of maternity and neonatal care for all women, babies, and families in Scotland, while placing more of a focus on mental health than ever.

Innovation has the power to unlock fresh, inspired solutions that can tackle issues head on and lay the foundations for further positive change in diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

We need to advance innovative pregnancy and perinatal solutions for important unmet needs and improve the lives of every woman and baby.

InnoScot Health is offering initial and rapid ‘kick start’ funding allowing promising innovations to be fast-tracked with additional funding leveraged as needed to support development, testing or manufacture. InnoScot Health has years of experience in leveraging additional funds from organisations such as Scottish Enterprise, Innovate UK, EU and private investment community.

InnoScot Health can offer funding and support for NHS projects and our focus is making new devices available via commercialisation. This ensures that not only the best new healthcare products reach the market and improve patient outcomes but also create some profit for the inventor and their health board employer.

In simple terms, yes. InnoScot Health has worked in partnership with NHS Scotland since 2002, protecting and supporting NHS initiated ideas, but we also assess and support ideas from students, members of the public, start-ups, SMEs and established companies that would benefit from collaboration with the NHS.

New ideas are central to the improvement of sustainable patient care. It’s true health and social care professionals are extremely busy but they also have incredible knowledge, expertise and first hand experience of the NHS, how it works, and how to make things better. It is InnoScot Health's mission to provide the right encouragement and support, to attract and develop these ideas.

A simple online submission form captures the idea, and the InnoScot Health team will then work closely with health professionals to develop the innovation. The team has always worked in this way, managing projects that would otherwise be difficult for health and social care staff to balance with personal or clinical commitments.

This will vary by project and depends on many factors, including complexity, stage of development, and funding requirements.

InnoScot Health has an established pathway for projects, but also has the capacity to act quickly on new ideas with immediate relevance. The initial steps couldn’t be easier – make a submission using our online form.

This short form needs you to submit your basic information, the concept, and then your idea will be evaluated by our team, who have years of experience in healthcare development and regulation.

The innovation team at InnoScot Health will assess and support selected ideas from concept to the final product. The team has over 20 years of experience evaluating ideas from health professionals.

An established criteria exists including the viability of the idea, regulatory considerations, commercial feasibility, clinical evaluation and technical considerations. These will be flexible and proportionate to the urgency and need for the idea.

The InnoScot Health team largely operates remotely. Our innovation team cover the whole of Scotland, and are available for basic questions or a bespoke consultation, while our submission guide lists the criteria the team use when assessing ideas.