Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Health and Care Act 2022, what steps the Government plans to take to drive innovation within the NHS.

The Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) works with leaders from the life sciences sector to increase innovation within the National Health Service. The AAC aims to ensure that innovation is accelerated and available to clinicians and patients and that the sector in the United Kingdom benefits patients, industry and the economy.

Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) are commissioned by the AAC to support the NHS to address health and care challenges. The AHSNs work with industry to obtain evidence of the benefits of new products and support early implementation in the NHS.

The Department continues to work with the NHS and the AAC to ensure that best practice in enabling innovation is communicated to integrated care boards and to support AHSNs’ engagement to increase the adoption of innovation adoption.