The Department of Health has announced two competitions for small businesses, with £5m available for ideas to improve the lives of people living with mental illness or who are at the end of their lives.
The mental health competition is looking for “creative ideas and technologies that could mean that mental illnesses are diagnosed earlier, or deliver better management of the disease with a more tailored approach to care.”
The end of life competition is looking specifically at how new technologies can improve end of life care, for example by providing greater comfort or helping to manage pain.
Health minister Lord Howe said: “Small businesses play a crucial role in providing creative and innovative solutions to existing problems.
"That’s why we are supporting them through our £5m funding to tackle these challenges and make a difference to patient’s lives.”
Both competitions are part of the Small Business Research Initiative, a cross-government scheme to promote economic growth while addressing public sector needs.
The DH has committed to supporting the initiative as part of its ‘Innovation, Health and Wealth’ agenda, which is looking to encourage the NHS to adopt effective innovations faster.
It will spend a total of £20m on the initiative, which has already run competitions focused on ideas for changing people’s behaviour to reduce the impact of obesity and alcohol-related diseases, and for encouraging people to take medication as prescribed.
The latest competitions will be managed by NHS Midlands and East, and applications must be made through the website of Health Enterprise East, the NHS Innovation Hub for the East of England, by 28 February.