News Round-Up: March 17th
I am proud to tell you that the work of the four academic health science networks (AHSNs) across the North of England is today featured in a special supplement in The Times.

Today’s edition of the Super North series is showcasing the impact of what we are doing to transform health and care services, connecting industry with the NHS and academics and helping to build the Northern Powerhouse.

The issue is introduced by Life Sciences Minister George Freeman, who describes the AHSNs as ‘crucial to the life sciences sector’.

“AHSNs have been vital in accelerating the pace of medical modernisation, enabling ground-breaking innovations to be developed and provided to patients, improving the quality of care the NHS can provide,” writes Mr Freeman.

This supplement shows how we work closely with other AHSNs and how our aims continue to be to accelerate the spread of innovation in the NHS.

Inside, you can read how we have:
  • Supported SloDrinks Plc in bringing a world-first to dysphagia patients
  • Pioneered new developments in informatics with our DataWell project
  • Helped SME Zilico to navigate the NHS procurement process with their patented ZedScan device
  • Supported Heywood, Middleton & Rochdale CCG's successful Testbed bid
Three years after AHSNs were created to help NHS England achieve the aims of the Five Year Forward View, we are clearly having an impact. I hope you enjoy finding out how we are doing this. You can read the digital edition here and please get in touch if you would like to find out more. 

Mike Burrows
Managing Director

Industry & Wealth

GM AHSN leads bid for Reference Site status

The GMAHSN – as part of a wider partnership across Greater Manchester – is leading the development of a bid to apply for Reference Site status as part of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing. 

Reference Sites are:

"ecosystems which comprise different players, including regional and/or local authorities, cities, integrated hospitals/care organisations, industry organisations, SMEs and/or start-ups, research and innovation organisations, that jointly implement a comprehensive, innovation-based approach to active and healthy ageing, and can give evidence and concrete illustrations of the impact of such approaches on the ground".

Read the full story on our website.
New case studies from the Innovation Nexus

10,000 new patients a year are treated by the Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine (MCGM) for rare diseases including cancers, developmental disorders and disabilities. 80% of rare diseases affect children.
MCGM’s laboratories at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CMFT) was the first NHS genetics service to adopt genome DNA sequence analysis supported by SapientiaTM, a technology developed by UK company Congenica. Read more >>

The best blood transfused to a patient is an exact match – their own blood, in fact. A Manchester company has developed a process to help hospitals easily re-use blood that patients lose during surgery, a move that has other benefits including the potential to further alleviate stress on donated stock. Read more >>

Research & Informatics

Electronic Patient Records in Salford

The CCIO and Health CIO networks recently visited Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust to find out how it has become a leader in the use of electronic patient records; and how it now plans to extend their use as part of the ambitious DevoManc agenda.
 
Delegates from across the country got the chance to find out how Salford has become one of the leading electronic patient records sites, and is now at the heart of plans to integrate care across Greater Manchester.
 
Salford is also one of the key players in our DataWell project, which will create the country’s biggest regional health information exchange.

Gary Leeming, Director of Informatics explained:

“The DataWell HIE will enable us to connect different pockets of information.  Lots of different data will be coming on board – so that it can be used by researchers, patients, doctors, commissioners and companies.”


Read a full report of the visit from digitalhealth.net here.

Health & Implementation

Site visit for the BTS Collaborative

Members of the GM AHSN team have been taking part in site visits at a number of hospital trusts in our region, in conjunction with delivery partners Haelo. The purpose of these visits is to support staff at the trusts working on the BTS Collaborative project to improve medicines safety. To find out more about the visits, check out the updates on our Twitter feed.
 
AF Detection Project

As part of a wider programme of work to tackle cardiovascular disease in our region, GM AHSN is supporting its members with their own projects to improve services. We are working with Salford CCG on a project to improve the detection of atrial fibrillation. 

GP Practices in Eccles and Irlam will be equipped with a hand-held AF detection device called the AliveCor Mobile ECG, which can be used alongside an every-day smartphone to help identify those residents at risk of developing AF. The test is simple and painless, and patients are simply asked to hold the device for 30 seconds with the smartphone picking up the readings which then allows instant detection and diagnosis.

AF is a heart condition that causes an irregular and often abnormally fast heart rate. it is one of the leaing cases of stroke. Although its cause isn’t fully understood, it does affect seven in every 100 people aged over 65, and is more common in men.

The pilot in Eccles and Irlam was made possible thanks to funding from NHS Salford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) with support from GM AHSN.

Upcoming events

Future Medicine for Managers

Monday 25th April 5.30pm to 7.30pm
(starting with a light supper)
This event will see presentations by:
  • Professor Graeme Black, Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine: The technological advances in genomic medicine which are revolutionising the opportunities for diagnosing, managing and treating patients with inherited rare diseases, and how this is altering the structure of care pathways for such patients. 
  • Peter Bower, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, NIHR Greater Manchester Primary Care Patient Safety Translational Research Centre: Innovations in medicine and care delivery occur at a fast pace, but implementation into the wider NHS remains a key barrier to achieving better outcomes and more efficient care. Drawing on national and local examples, this talk will explore what we know about large scale implementation. 
To attend this event, please register here

Wednesday 11th May 5.30pm to 7.30pm (starting with a light supper)
This event will see presentations by:
  • Tony Whetton, Manchester Precision Medicine Institute: This year sees the opening of the £25 million Stoller Biomarker Discovery Centre  and the Medical Research Council Pathology Node on the Central Manchester Trust site. The mission of these partnering institutions is to enable discovery and rapid deployment of new diagnostic tools for precision medicine. The approaches taken to achieve this will be presented.
  • Tony Hegarty, Institute for Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manchester: Hypertension is a problem seen in around one third of the adult population of the United Kingdom. Whilst there are a number of drugs available, an individual’s response to a particular antihypertensive medication is unpredictable.  The AIM HY consortium is working towards seeking a genetic basis for personalising the treatment for hypertension and the presentation will outline progress that has been made in this area.
To attend this event, please register here
Manchester Ecosystem Event

'Improving Health and Social Care through data'
 
Date: Thursday 14th April 2016
Time: 9:00 - 13:00 with networking lunch
Venue: Citylabs, Manchester, M13 9NQ

Radical changes are underway in Greater Manchester as the devolved annual Health and Social Care budget of £6bn takes effect. Understanding and interpreting healthcare data is key to effective redesign of services and delivery of better health outcomes for our population. April’s Greater Manchester Connected Health Ecosystem will focus on how GM is using data to support these changes and what is being planned for the coming months. 

Register here

If you would like to contact the Manchester Ecosystem team directly, please get in touch by emailing daniel.morley@manchester.ac.uk or  ana-maria-alexandra.nica@manchester.ac.uk

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