BIVDA Chief Executive Helen Dent has had her article, ‘Pass the Baton: Why NHS Innovation Stalls at the Finish Line’, published in Chamber UK journal, read by parliamentarians across both Houses.
In the article, Helen observed that, despite widespread agreement across industry, the NHS and government on what needs to change, progress remains limited. She noted that while experts have aligned around solutions following the 10-year and Life Sciences Sector plans, those individuals are often not in positions to implement them, creating a persistent gap between strategy and execution.
Helen highlighted that the issue is not the quality of individual components within the system, which are often world-leading, but rather the lack of cohesion between them. She described the system as fragmented, with poor coordination preventing innovations from progressing smoothly from development to adoption. This disconnect frequently results in promising, publicly funded technologies reaching market readiness but failing to be implemented in practice.
She argued that a fundamental problem lies in how funding is structured. Innovations may be supported through development phases, yet there is no consistent mechanism to fund their adoption, leaving individual NHS Trusts to make difficult financial decisions that often favour maintaining existing practices.
Helen argued that the solution is not increased overall spending, but a reallocation of resources. She proposed that funding should follow innovation, with outdated technologies de-funded to support the uptake of new solutions. Additionally, she emphasised the need for greater use of capital funding over long-term revenue contracts, which she suggested would reduce costs, enable more flexible procurement, and encourage competition.
In her view, such reforms would improve patient outcomes, support smaller companies, and enhance the UK’s attractiveness for investment, all while making more effective use of existing public funds.
