In 2015 MAHSE were awarded funding from Health Education England (North) to develop and expand research and innovation (R&I) within the healthcare science community. The project was delivered in four phases as outlined below:

Diagram of Project Phases

Phases 1 and 2

The first phase of the project was completed by TRUSTECH and their findings have been summarised in the downloadable Research and Innovation report. The results of the survey have been collated in a searchable database to enable MAHSE to identify centres of excellence and R&I champions who could support the implementation of the project.

MAHSE and TRUSTECH jointly hosted a webinar on 17th November 2015 to provide information about the findings which healthcare scientists were invited to attend. Fiona Carragher, Deputy Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England, also joined the webinar and gave a short introduction to highlight the work being done in this area at a national level.

You can watch the webinar below.

Phase 3

In the next phase of the project, MAHSE hosted a workshop on 24 February 2016 involving key stakeholders to begin to develop a strategy as well as identify the key objectives and priorities. A range of stakeholders attended the workshop and MAHSE would like to thank them all for their involvement.  All of the comments and suggestions that were raised at the workshop are now available to view in our summary document.  MAHSE then held additional stakeholder meetings to gain further information about the needs of the healthcare science workforce in the North West.

Phase 4

Based on the feedback from all key stakeholders, MAHSE delivered three core initiatives to support healthcare scientists with the design, planning, implementation and evaluation of their research and innovation projects.  Click on the sections below to find out more about our initiatives and how to access them.

MAHSE Service Improvement and Innovation Hub

The MAHSE Service Improvement and Innovation Hub has been developed to guide healthcare scientists through each stage of the innovation process and to provide useful resources that will help healthcare scientists to access the necessary information and support whilst carrying out their innovation projects.  The site features a Roadmap that takes healthcare scientists step by step through the processes of reviewing service provision, exploring ideas for service improvement/innovation, project planning, obtaining support, piloting and launching projects, disseminating outcomes and finally, evaluating projects.

Understanding Innovation in the Healthcare Sciences MOOC

This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) explains the process of innovation using improvement science methods, helping Healthcare Scientists to identify how they can contribute to innovation and understand their role in driving innovation in healthcare science. By the end of this 4 week course learners will be able to:

– Assess what constitutes an innovation in healthcare science and identify areas for innovation in clinical service.

– Design an innovation project proposal, including identifying sources of support and communication with stakeholders.

– Reflect on and then apply the appropriate tools and techniques for project planning.

– Develop a critical awareness of the steps involved in launching and evaluating an innovation project, including dissemination and communication strategies.

To be notified when the next course date is available please register your details here.

Service Improvement and Innovation Fellowships

During 2017-2018 MAHSE awarded over £125,000 of funding to healthcare science staff undertaking service improvement and innovation projects in NHS Trusts across the North West.  The aim of the funding was to facilitate the career and professional development of healthcare science staff by enabling them to participate in projects that improve patient care through making innovations in healthcare science and service delivery.  Find out more about our fellowship holders and their projects by following the links below:

Meet our 2018 Fellowship Holders

Meet our 2017 Fellowship Holders