Title of driver: Increasing research and innovation in health and social care
Source: Department of Health
Publication format: HTML (Webpage)
Date of publication: 25 March 2013
Summary of driver: Department of Health (DH) policy document outlining plans to encourage leading-edge health research across NHS England and increased use of innovative approaches and technologies in healthcare to improve quality and the effectiveness of NHS patient care.
Evidence-based decision making will be applied across Public Health and Social Care. By supporting strategies that are proven to work, improvements in productivity, value for money and the quality of NHS health services can be achieved.
Key features of driver:
- Making innovation and research a priority in the NHS with 9 key deliverables set out in an NHS England report: Innovation health and wealth, accelerating adoption and diffusion in the NHS (NHS England, 2011) and progress report Innovation Health and Wealth: One Year On (DH, 2012).
- DH will continue to provide large scale funding into health and social care research programmes through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Additional funding made available by Medical Research Councils and Small Business Research Initiatives.
- Partnership working between the NIHR, DH and Health Research Authority (HRA) to make research quicker and easier within the NHS. From 2012 this will include performance-linked funding for clinical research conducted by NHS Trusts, based on meeting NIHR benchmarks.
- From April 2013 Public Health England (PHE) will collate evidence and advise NHS services and Councils on effective initiatives to target public health problems e.g. excessive drinking, smoking and obesity.
- From April 2013 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence will publish evidence-based standards and guidance to inform decision making in Social Care. Further detail provided in DH White Paper: Caring for Our Future: Reforming Care and Support (DH, 2012).
Primary audience: NHS research providers (including: NIHR Clinical Research Network, NHS Trusts), NHS research partners (HE and private sector), Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE), NHS social care providers, NHS Commissioning Board / Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG)
Impact on library policy/practice: Whilst not directly applicable to NHS library services, the policy provides an opportunity for libraries to work collaboratively with colleagues in the following areas:
- Public health initiatives e.g. NHS Health Awareness Events throughout the year – highlighting innovative research which supports NHS / public health objectives such as: smoking cessation or awareness of obesity and its link to type II diabetes.
- Supporting NHS healthcare researchers – providing information / research skills training to help identify high quality clinical research, promoting relevant journals / research publications, circulating eTOC alerts and current awareness services (e.g. evidence update bulletins).
- Supporting clinical audit teams and clinical policy makers – literature searching and critical appraisal to enable effective review of current protocols and targeted monitoring of NICE technology appraisals and health technology assessments. This can help to inform changes to clinical practice and introduction of new drugs or healthcare devices.
- Strategic positioning – aligning the strategic aim and objectives of the library service with Trust priorities and the research and development programme. This can help direct business and financial planning to support research and innovative practice within NHS Trusts.
- Working with healthcare staff in their departments and remotely via outreach and clinical librarian initiatives, to assist access to NICE Clinical Guidelines and other reliable evidence. This can support professionals to remain up-to-date with clinical developments and best practice.
Date last updated: 24/12/2013
Due for review: December 2014
Group member responsible: ME
Tagged: Innovation, Research and development