NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) on behalf of the Integrated Care System (ICS) is excited to become part of the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) Innovation Sites (InSites) programme. InSites brings together NHS provider organisations which has been extended and expanded, building on the success of the previous year, where innovations have made a real difference to patient care.

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is serving as the coordination hub of the NHS CEP InSites Programme, where participating NHS Trusts are recognised for leading the way on healthcare innovation resulting in benefits to patients and staff.

Supported by NHS England, InSites focuses on testing new and innovative ways of patient care, evaluating them in real-world settings, and preparing healthcare organisations to be more readily able to adopt, scale, spread and sustain innovations, while also encouraging an innovation culture at the participating sites.

From over 80 organisations that expressed interest in the programme, eight, including NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB and the ICS, have become part of this prestigious line-up this year, with 10 original participants from last year.

A range of pioneering solutions have been trialled in the first year including using artificial intelligence to predict non-attendance in outpatient clinics, developing a virtual reality platform providing information and support to children and their families before, during and after procedures, and testing a community-based lifestyle programme for diabetic patients to reduce medications.

This year, the participating organisations, of which NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB on behalf of the ICS is one, will collaborate to address their key needs such as reducing the waiting time for patients, creating more capacity in the system, and supporting the NHS workforce. NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB priorities for the programme include developing a system-wide innovation culture, innovation need mapping and matching to innovations and the real-world evaluation of innovations in practice that meet our population health needs. We look forward to working with provider organisations, clinicians, ICB staff, the CEP InSites hub, Health Innovation East, innovators, and wider stakeholders to make the most of this opportunity.   

Jana Schulte, InSites Portfolio Director said: “I am excited to welcome the new members of our InSites programme who share our passion for driving change in their organisation and across the system. The enthusiasm from different areas in the country and provider types underscores that innovation is key to overcoming challenges, support our staff and provide the best care for our patients.”

Charlotte Williams, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer at the Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our approach is not only to support and nurture the innovative spirit of colleagues within our own organisations but also to spread this and amplify the impact by sharing together across peers. We know that collaboration and knowledge exchange can be powerful catalysts for progress, and we have seen this in year one of InSites. Together with our new members, we aim to broaden and deepen benefits from working differently across the wider NHS.”

Dr Clara Yates, Associate Director for Research and Dr Tim Clarke, Head of Innovation at NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB said: “We recognise the need and importance to further identify, implement, evaluate, spread, and sustain innovations across Norfolk and Waveney to meet local population needs. We are excited to have been selected as an InSite, which will allow us to share and learn from other sites across the country as well as accelerate our work with system partners to optimise the benefits that implementing innovation can bring”.