NICE and NHS England announce plan to enable innovative tech to be adopted quicker
NHS patients in England will benefit from faster access to the most innovative and cutting-edge medical technologies under new plans.
Proposals set out in a joint NHS England and NICE consultation outline a new route for MedTech developers to access NHS funding to fast-track clinically and cost-effective products for use by the healthcare system.
The plans will ensure the growing number of game-changing products recommended by NICE can be introduced in the NHS on a large-scale to improve patient outcomes.
The proposals in the consultation document have been developed by NHS England and NICE with input from the Department of Health and Social Care and other partners, including the Office for Life Science (OLS) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Along with improving outcomes for patients, the proposals in the consultation will provide greater certainty for MedTech innovators and suppliers– with a commitment to automatic funding to support routine commissioning for those technologies that meet a required criteria.
Feedback on the proposals is being sought from patients, clinicians, academics, and industry and can be submitted via the consultation webpage. The consultation will run for 12 weeks, closing at midnight on Thursday 15 August.
“Medical technology plays a vital role in the nation’s health and these proposals outline how we can fully maximise its use for the benefits of patients.
“We are eager to hear from patients, industry, clinicians and the public to help us develop and shape the MedTech pathway to ensure it can provide the greatest clinical and cost-effective benefit, so please come forward with your views.”
The proposals will strengthen the commitment contained in the NHS Long Term Plan to accelerate the uptake of selected innovative medical devices, diagnostics, and digital products.
Recent MedTech equipment introduced to the NHS includes a laser fibre that vaporises enlarged prostatic tissue and a device called Spectra Optia, which separates and removes sickle red blood cells from the patient’s blood using continuous flow and centrifugation.
These are replaced with healthy red blood cells according to the user-defined software protocol.