New £30m fund to speed up NHS tech adoption

• Ministers unveil £30m Health Technology Adoption and Acceleration Fund for NHS
• Grants will speed up the roll out of cutting-edge innovation and new treatments to cut waiting lists and improve patient care
• Local NHS trusts to apply for cash to address community needs

Health & Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay will today unveil a new £30 million fund to speed up the roll out cutting-edge technology and innovation across the NHS.

The Health Technology Adoption and Acceleration Fund will provide cash for local NHS organisations to rapidly adopt new technologies. 

It could include tech that helps detect diseases and health conditions sooner, supports patients to get treated in their own homes rather than in hospitals and increases productivity to free up staff time to focus on care.

The establishment of the fund is part of a series of long-term decisions the Government has taken to secure the future sustainability of the NHS, cut waiting lists and ensure patients get the care they need when they need it.

Local NHS teams will be able to bid for cash from the fund to address a need in their community. The funding will be available this year and the first projects are expected to be delivered by April 2024. 

This new fund builds on the Conservative record of championing innovation and new technology to cut NHS waiting lists. Our elective recovery plan includes spending £2.1 billion over three years to modernise digital technology on the frontline, improve cyber security and the NHS’s use of data.

Other long-term decisions by the Government to help accelerate the adoption of cutting-edge technology in the NHS include backing the rollout of 86 AI technologies with £123 million of funding. These have already benefited 300,000 patients by improving their care and treatment for health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental health and neurological disorders.

We are also expanding and improving the NHS app to allow people to access their medical records and results digitally.

Health & Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:

“Cutting-edge technology like AI has the potential to transform our healthcare but we need to roll out these innovations faster so that patients receive the benefits as quickly as possible.

“That is why today I am announcing the creation of a new £30-million Health Technology Adoption and Acceleration Fund, enabling clinicians to adopt proven technologies that can improve patient care in their local area.

“This fund, resulting from a long-term decision by the Government to build a brighter future for the NHS, will provide new tools to help detect cancer sooner, enable people to receive treatment in the own homes and increase productivity.”ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• The Government is establishing a £30 million fund to help local NHS organisations adopt and accelerate the use of new technology this year. Integrated Care Systems – the group of organisations that make up the NHS in a local area – will be invited to apply to fund new technology that addresses a local unmet need and results in tangible benefits for patients and/or improves productivity or staff experience. The funding is available this year and we would expect the projects to be delivered in this financial year.
• New funding will be dedicated to improving patient care and boosting efficiency. To encourage innovation, local areas will be able to decide which technology will work best for them. However, their selected technology should address one of six priority areas. These are (1) virtual wards and clinics; (2) at-home diagnostics and treatment; (3) elective care; (4) clinical productivity; (5) patient self-management; and (6) early cancer diagnosis.
• The Government is addressing the variation in adopting new technology across the country. Bids will be expected to focus on ‘late-stage’ proven technology that is already, or can easily be, incorporated into existing treatment pathways to ensure it can be adopted quickly and at scale.
• Conservatives are taking long-term decisions for a brighter future for the NHS. We are investing £2.1 billion into modernising technology as part of our plan to cut waiting lists. Our elective recovery plan includes spending £2.1 billion over 3 years to modernise digital technology on the frontline, improve cyber security and the NHS’s use of data and redesign care pathways.
• This Government is rolling out cutting-edge technology to provide better patient care. We are supporting the rollout of 86 AI technologies with £123 million through the AI in Health and Care Awards. These have already benefited 300,000 patients improving their care and treatment for health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental health and neurological disorders. These include:
• Brainomix e-Stroke: An AI tool to interpret brain scans following an acute stroke to support decisions about treatment. Data suggests patients are three times more likely to recover when it is used.
• Tommy’s Pathway: An online medical tool which is able to identify early the risk of preterm birth and of complications that can lead to stillbirth.
• Oxford Cancer Biomarkers: Using AI to identify biomarkers - genes which may suggest a predisposition to certain diseases - in screening to help clinicians deliver personalised care to patients with colorectal cancer.
• Expanding and improving the NHS app is being expanded and improved, including upgrades to allow patients to access their medical records and results on their smartphone or other digital devices. Within the next year 90 per cent of people will be able to access their GP records, including test results, on the NHS app.
• Labour is incapable of taking long-term decisions on healthcare. Keir Starmer has promised a complicated, bureaucratic ‘procurement plan’ for new technology. Labour haven’t come up with any new ideas and risk stifling innovation and the uptake of new technology by adding more complicated procurement rules as they flip flop and chase headlines for short-term political gain.