The NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme (CEP) and NHS England are delighted to announce the successful recruitment of its first cohort of Patient Entrepreneurs.
Starting this February, the NHS CEP Patient Entrepreneur Programme (PEP) is a pilot programme aimed at people with lived experience of an illness or condition who have developed an innovation to improve patient care. The programme aims to give these individuals the skills and knowledge to develop their innovation, while also providing access to a network of mentors, healthcare experts and additional support.
Delivered by Anglia Ruskin Universities’ NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme and the Innovation, Research, Life sciences and Strategy patient and public involvement team at NHS England, this pilot allows patients to join an already established and respected programme of innovation learning and development while benefitting from additional wrap-around support and bespoke training opportunities.
The pilot was launched in November and received over 80 applications spanning a broad range of innovations from Femtech (technology to support women’s health to condition), medical devices, to apps supporting long term health conditions. The volume and exceptional quality of applications demonstrates the impressive levels of innovation and care being developed by patient entrepreneurs.
Following a thorough review and judging process, PEP has offered 12 places on this ground-breaking new pilot programme, which will give patients access to the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme with additional support from the Patient and Public Involvement team at NHS England.
Verena Stocker, Director of Innovation, Research, Life Sciences and Strategy, NHS England: ‘It is a testament to the strength of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme and the importance of this work that we received so many applicants for the inaugural NHS CEP Patient Entrepreneur Programme. Through lived experience, patients have a unique insight into the healthcare system and this brilliant new initiative will help patients with an innovative idea to develop it and help more people to benefit from their experiences.’
Funmi Vanessa Ullam, Founder of Eli App and patient entrepreneur said “I’m excited to have secured a place on the NHS CEP Patient Entrepreneur Programme (PEP), I believe that this programme is going to support me in developing the skills and connections, to push forward my innovation Eli App.My innovation Eli App came from the demands of caring for my son Eli, who was diagnosed with Sickle Cell at 2 weeks. Facing the overwhelming challenges of home management, I integrated home tested strategies into the app to bridge the gap including a pain log, mood logging, medication reminders, symptom tracking, a virtual community and educational resources. I was inspired by visiting the CEP website! The CEP community understands innovating in Healthtech in a unique way that sets them apart from other accelerators.”
Professor Tony Young, National Clinical Lead for Innovation, NHS England:
“At the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, we are committed to placing patients at the centre of our work. We welcome 12 more outstanding innovators to transform healthcare. Congratulations to those who have been offered a place on this pilot, and we look forward to the next 12 months.”
The NHS CEP Big Pitch event in London on 6th March will mark the official start of the Patient Entrepreneur Programme, which welcomes this new cohort to the programme while highlighting the work and achievements from our CEP innovators from the last year.