SBRI competition brief: clinical decision support in emergency care
Updated 10 April 2017
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1. Dates and deadlines
| Competition opens | Monday 10 April 2017 |
| Registration deadline for briefing event | Friday 5 May 2017 |
| Briefing event for applicants | Monday 8 May 2017 |
| Registration deadline for entering the competition | Midday Wednesday 31 May 2017 |
| Phase 1 application deadline | Midday Wednesday 7 June 2017 |
2. The competition scope
The aim of this competition is to develop innovative data analytics that will enable clinicians to make informed, safe and timely decisions. Improved provision of critical data should enable early decision-making on treatment and disposition. It should enhance patient flow, satisfaction and, potentially, outcomes.
The clinical focus is the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for patients in emergency care departments.
We are looking for innovative data analytics that are capable of, but not limited to:
- resolving complex high-volume data into clinically usable data at the point of care
- making key critical data instantly visible to the clinician
Innovations should be able to provide at least one of the following outcomes:
- enhanced clinical decision-making for patients with COPD attending the emergency care department
- enhanced resource utilisation through predicted length of stay
- early identification of patients at risk of deterioration beyond existing prediction models
The competition is particularly looking for solutions that:
- improve patient experience and outcomes
- can be applied to other medical conditions
Proposed digital platforms should effectively and securely interface with existing NHS Scotland IT infrastructure. Digital solutions should be flexible to allow for national and local development of the resource in line with service needs.
This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition.
3. Projects that we won’t fund
In this competition we are not funding projects that do not support A National Clinical Strategy for Scotland.
4. Find out if you are eligible to apply
To lead a project, you must:
- be an organisation of any size
- work alone or in collaboration with others (businesses, research base and third sector)
5. Funding and project details
NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government have allocated up to £55,000 to fund innovation projects in this competition. This is divided across 2 phases:
- up to £10,000 is for phase 1
- up to £45,000 is for phase 2
5.1 Phase 1
In phase 1 you will show the technical feasibility of your proposed innovation. Projects can range in size up to a total cost of £2,000 each. Development contracts for feasibility studies should last up to 12 weeks. Phase 1 will have total funding of up to £10,000.
Applicants should include their goals and an outline plan for phase 2 in their proposal. This should cover testing in a live NHS system (see below). Proposals should also include an explicit plan for full commercial implementation.
5.2 Phase 2
Phase 2 is only open to applicants that have successfully completed phase 1. In phase 2 you will develop and evaluate prototypes of the most promising projects completed in phase 1. Projects should last up to 9 months. Projects can range in size up to a total cost of £15,000 each. Phase 2 will have total funding of up to £45,000.
The final 6 months of the phase 2 contract will involve testing the shortlisted solutions in full-scale live NHS Scotland systems. Testing will take place in the following locations:
- NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
Successful phase 1 proposals must show that they are able to test technology at these facilities.
6. How to apply
To apply:
- the lead applicant must register online. Please note that you must complete a separate registration for each proposal submitted
- read the invitation to tender, which will be available on the FTP site after registration
- attend the briefing event for potential applicants in Glasgow on 8 May 2017
- complete and upload your online application for phase 1. You must complete a separate form for each innovation proposed
We will not accept late submissions. Your application is confidential.
A panel of selected experts will assess the quality of your application. We will then select the best proposals from those that meet the aims of this competition.
If you need more information, please contact gg-uhb.NHSSOIC@nhs.net.
Please read the general guidance for applicants. It will help your chances of submitting a quality application. Please note however that the funding rules may differ for SBRI competitions.
7. Background and further information
NHS Scotland is working with Innovate UK to find innovative healthcare solutions that will support the principles of A National Clinical Strategy for Scotland.
The Scottish Government has acknowledged the need for transformational change in the way NHS Scotland meets citizens’ health and social care needs by 2020. The underpinning principles include:
- enhancing the future quality of care by providing greater patient safety, better clinical effectiveness and a more patient-centred approach
- guiding proposed service changes with evidence and evaluation before fully implementing
- basing service changes around better support for citizens and staff in general, rather than on the needs of a single disease
- improving population health by allowing people the opportunity to better manage their own health
- providing services locally, where clinically appropriate
- minimising health inequalities by ensuring equitable access to healthcare and social care support
- removing barriers that make people less likely to access care
NHS Scotland has a great opportunity to put its valuable data resource to better use. Current NHS IT systems provide vast amounts of comprehensive, granular data. Analysis of this data offers the possibility of identifying and studying health and treatment trends in almost the entire population. It should be possible to improve the use of NHS-held data to enhance decision making in complex clinical and population health contexts.
Volume, acuity and co-morbidity bring challenges for clinicians in making rapid and safe decisions when managing patients within the emergency care department. Clinicians need to access multiple clinical databases at the point of care for each patient, with data about attendance and the initial phase of management. Other applications also hold patient-specific historic data.
All this data must be resolved by the clinician to inform key management and disposition decisions. Key to this is making patient-specific data more easily visible to the clinician at the point of care.
COPD treatment and care also poses a big challenge. It is the fifth biggest killer in the UK and the second most common cause of emergency admission to hospital. Around a third of those admitted to hospital as a result of their COPD are readmitted within a month of discharge. Readmission rates vary by up to 5 times in different parts of the country.
Emergency admissions are associated with higher, rising unit costs compared with other forms of care. They disrupt elective healthcare. This is at a time where patients have increased expectations of care, while NHS budgets are constrained. All this has created the need for enhanced efficacy in the approach to management of COPD patients attending emergency care departments.
7.1 About SBRI competitions
SBRI provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. This can lead to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness. SBRI supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services, through the public procurement of research and development (R&D).
The initiative generates new business opportunities for companies and provides a route to market for their ideas. It also bridges the seed funding gap experienced by many early-stage companies.
Applications must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively for R&D services.
R&D can cover solution exploration and design. It can also include prototyping and field testing the product or service.
R&D does not include:
- commercial development activities such as quantity production
- supply to establish commercial viability or to recover R&D costs
- integration, customisation or incremental adaptations and improvements to existing products or processes
7.2 Further help and information
Directions on how to enter this competition can be found in the invitation to tender document available on the FTP site after registration.
To access help in finding a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network or Scottish Enterprise.
If you need more information, contact the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357 or email us at support@innovateuk.gov.uk.
For further information on the scope of the competition, please contact: gg-uhb.NHSSOIC@nhs.net. A link will also be provided from this email address which will provide further updates and additional information, such as the presentations from the launch event. It is recommended that all potential applicants contact the above email address to gain access to this information.