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Research, Development and Innovation (RDI): innovation

Welcome to NHS Ayrshire & Arran Innovation.

NHS Scotland is dedicated to fostering innovation to improve health and social care services. Our innovation structure supports the development and implementation of innovative solutions that address the real needs of patients and the NHS.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran is a player in this innovation drive, using its experience and keen interest in exploring new ideas to enhance patient care. The region has been at the forefront of several ground-breaking initiatives, such as Project CAELUS, a national innovation programme which uses drones to transport medical supplies, significantly reducing delivery times for critical medicines and blood products, among others.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran is also known for its innovative approaches in remote health monitoring and integrated health and care services. 

About us 

NHS Scotland is committed to fostering innovation to improve health and social care services. Our innovation structure is designed to support the development and implementation of innovative solutions that address the real needs of patients and the NHS. 

Chief Scientist Office (CSO) 

The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) provides national guidance and coordination for innovation activities across NHS Scotland. The CSO aims to support the development of innovative solutions that improve health outcomes and generate economic growth. Key initiatives include: 

  • Regional Innovation Hubs: These hubs provide infrastructure, clinical expertise, and technical environments to translate new technologies into viable products and services. 
  • Collaboration: The CSO fosters collaboration between NHS, academia, and industry to develop and adopt innovative solutions. 

Research, Development and Innovation Office (RDI) 

The RDI Office coordinates a network of experts to help innovators introduce new technologies, products, or processes. The office supports various innovation pathways and ensures compliance with safety, digital security, and regulatory standards.

Key services include: 

  • Service Adoption Readiness: Tools and resources to assess readiness for innovation pathways. 
  • Subject Matter Experts: Advice on evidence requirements, regulation, standards, and more. 
  • Programme and Project Management: Specialist support for service redesign and innovation implementation projects. 

Innovation pathways 

NHS Scotland supports several innovation pathways to help innovators bring their ideas to life: 

  • West of Scotland Innovation Hub: Provides comprehensive support for health and social care innovation, from defining problems and securing funding to developing and implementing impactful solutions, with access to extensive NHS infrastructure and expertise and bespoke processes to support end to end innovation, including medical devices, data and AI and digital solutions.  
  • InnoScot Health: A key partner in the innovation ecosystem, providing support and resources to bring new healthcare ideas to market, enhancing patient care and operational efficiency within NHS Scotland. 

West of Scotland Innovation Hub

The West of Scotland Innovation Hub stimulates, supports, and sustains innovation in health and social care across the region. It collaborates with six NHS Boards and fourteen Health and Social Care Partnerships. The Hub provides end-to-end support for health and social care innovation, from conception to procurement.  

What the WoS Innovation Hub does: 

  • The WoS Innovation Hub co-designs, co-develops, and co-delivers health and social care innovations in the West of Scotland. 
  • The Hub provides comprehensive support from conception to procurement, addressing key challenges to improve health, social care, and service delivery. 

Who the Hub works with: 

  • Clinical and social care teams, academics, industry, the third sector, and funding bodies. 
  • Collaboration and part of six NHS Boards and fourteen Health and Social Care. 
  • Hosted by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, one of the largest NHS organisations in the UK. 
  • Working with the other NHS Scotland test beds: Health Innovation South East Scotland and NHS Grampian Innovation Hub. 
  • Partners include: Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office, InnoScot Health Limited and the Digital Health and Care Innovation Centre.  

Access to NHS test bed infrastructure: 

  • Clinical research facilities, CTU, and Research Pharmacy. 
  • Medical Device Unit. 
  • eHealth systems, data integration, and Safe Haven research data. 
  • Healthcare delivery environments. 
  • Biorepositories and pathology. 
  • Diagnostics and research imaging. 
  • All supported by contractual, ethical, and regulatory frameworks. 

The West of Scotland Innovation Hub offers a range of support services, including idea development, funding and investment assistance, commercialisation expertise, and regulatory and compliance support. 

To access support and guidance from the Hub, please complete the following initial contact form. 

Innoscot Health

Formal NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health specialises in the commercialisation of innovative ideas across the health service, offering services such as idea development, funding assistance, and market expertise. 

InnoScot Health has been working in partnership with NHS Scotland for over 20 years to inspire, accelerate, and commercialise impactful healthcare innovations.  

Working with staff across a range of roles and medical specialties, InnoScot Health has formed seven spin-out companies and brought a range of medical devices, products and technologies to market. 

InnoScot Health works closely with NHS Scotland to identify, develop, and commercialise innovative ideas that improve patient care and operational efficiency. InnoScot Health provides a comprehensive range of services to support innovators, including: 

  • Intellectual Property: Protecting, managing, and commercialising IP. 
  • Regulatory Support: Provision of consultancy, training and advice. 
  • Idea Development: Helping to refine and develop innovative ideas into viable products or services. 
  • Funding and Investment: Assisting with securing funding and investment for innovation projects. 
  • Commercialisation: Providing expertise in bringing new products and services to market. 
  • Collaboration: Facilitating partnerships between NHS, academia, and industry to drive innovation. 

InnoScot Health looks for ideas that can become commercially viable healthcare products or services. Ideas that advance innovation and patient care. It could be an idea to improve, or complement, an existing product or device on the market, or something completely new.

Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) Pathway

The Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) Pathway is a Chief Scientist Office funded programme designed to fast-track proven health technologies into the healthcare frontline across Scotland. Led by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD), ANIA aims to enhance patient outcomes, reduce waiting times, and improve the overall healthcare experience. 

What the ANIA Pathway does: 

  • Identify and Assess: Identifies and assesses new health technologies with the required impact and evidence base for accelerated adoption across NHS Scotland. 
  • Implement National Rollout: Implements the national rollout of technology and associated changes to clinical pathways across NHS Scotland. 
  • High Impact Innovations: Ensures only the highest impact, evidence-based innovations aligned with Scottish Government priorities are adopted nationally. 

Who the ANIA Pathway works with: 

  • Support and Collaboration: Supports ANIA partners to contribute their varied expertise to move high impact innovations through the ANIA pathway at an accelerated pace. 
  • Joint Planning: Enables joint planning with territorial NHS Boards for accelerated adoption and implementation of innovations and associated service change requirements. 

How the ANIA Pathway works: 

  • Submission and Evaluation: Innovations are submitted via an ANIA referral form and evaluated against criteria such as alignment with national policy, clinical need, and evidence of impact. 
  • Development of Value Case: Innovations that meet the criteria progress to the development of a Value Case, detailing the benefits and costs for national adoption. 
  • National Adoption: Approved innovations proceed to full-scale national adoption and integration into clinical services. 

The ANIA Pathway is committed to ensuring that impactful health technologies are rapidly integrated into the NHS, improving patient care and operational efficiency across Scotland. 

3. Partnerships 

NHS Scotland works with various partners to enhance innovation efforts: 

  • NHS Education for Scotland 
  • Health Improvement Scotland 
  • Centre for Sustainable Delivery 
  • Scottish Health Industry Partnership 
  • CivTech 
  • InnoScot Health 

Project CAELUS

NHS Ayrshire & Arran has been at the forefront of several ground-breaking initiatives, such as Project CAELUS (Care and Equity Logistics UAS Scotland).

Project CAELUS is a national innovation programme which uses drones to transport medical supplies, significantly reducing delivery times for critical medicines and blood products.

Watch the NHS Ayrshire & Arran flight trial:

Project CAELUS is exploring the value aerial drones can add to a medical logistics network in Scotland, aiming to establish the UK’s first national drone logistics network.

Drone technology can speed up the delivery of critical medical supplies, such as blood products, medicines, and laboratory tests, to remote rural communities, enhancing local medical care and improving patient outcomes.

This project seeks to improve equity of care between urban and rural areas by demonstrating the viability, scalability, and efficiency of drone technology across the NHS.

Project CAELUS is part-funded by Innovate UK’s Future Flight fund and led by AGS Airports, with a consortium of 16 partners, including NHS Scotland.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran played a crucial role by providing data about each West of Scotland NHS facility and working closely with the NHS Ayrshire & Arran clinical lead, Dr Janet Hogg, to develop use cases. During live flight trials between Crosshouse Hospital and Arran War Memorial, NHS Ayrshire & Arran supported drone operators and local clinical staff at take-off and landing points (TOLPs) on Arran and at Crosshouse.

The project successfully validated many flights and assisted partners, such as the packaging company Intelsius, in proving they can maintain temperatures in a tamper-proof box for blood products and samples.

Technology Enabled Care 

NHS Ayrshire & Arran has implemented various remote health monitoring services, including telehealth and home health monitoring, to enhance patient care and accessibility. The Technology Enabled Care (TEC) programme focuses on public-facing digital solutions to improve outcomes for individuals in home or community settings.

Redesigning CAMHS

The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) in NHS Ayrshire & Arran have been redesigned to provide innovative solutions for young people experiencing anxiety.

This includes:

  • multi-disciplinary working
  • collaboration with partner agencies

The redesign features distinct teams within CAMHS, such as:

  • Specialist Community CAMHS
  • Neurodiverse CAMHS
  • CAMHS Urgent Assessment & Intensive Treatment

Simple but effective: The Rhinopinch® 

The Rhinopinch® was an idea of Dr Akuafo Agbenyega, an Accident and Emergency Consultant at NHS Ayrshire & Arran, developed alongside InnoScot Health.

This lightweight adjustable plastic nasal clip staunches nosebleeds, while comfortably fitting the patient’s nose and saving time and effort.

It is particularly useful for paramedics and nursing staff, and can be used by non-clinicians such as nursery and schoolteachers. It is now available from Amazon and other retailers.

CivTech Challenge 9.2

CivTech Challenge 9.2 aims to empower women to better understand menopause and access the right support.

Adora Digital Health and Lumino are developing digital solutions for menopause management. The goal is to support national adoption.