Keeping up with the science: Innovation in the health and care system post Brexit

Article

Innovation in health – new treatments, technologies and processes – can help drive improvements in healthcare and ultimately health outcomes. We are on the cusp of a new wave of innovation driven by robotics, big data and therapeutic breakthroughs such as cell and gene therapy.

However, the history of innovation in the UK shows that the health and care system is often slow to adopt new technologies. The government has tried to address the causes of this problem, most recently through the Accelerated Access Review (AAR) and Life Sciences (Industrial) Strategy.

Although these initiatives offer a number of sensible policy suggestions, the reality is that they will fail to deliver on their potential without a Brexit deal that prioritises health and care; a new long-term funding settlement for health and care; and a clear plan for system reform in the NHS.

Related items

  1. A wide shot of several large commercial vessels, including oil tankers and a survey boat, floating on turquoise water. In the background, an industrial shoreline with numerous smokestacks and refinery infrastructure is visible under a cloudy sky. Concept of global logistics, maritime industry, and international trade.

    Price caps and economic stability: How to manage the Iran war energy shock?

    The Iran war energy shock will impose significant costs on the UK economy, even if the government does not offer a universal support package.

  2. The political trust crisis: Why local democracy must start listening again

    A troubling reality hangs over May’s local elections: trust in politics has collapsed.
  3. Close Up Of Female Care Worker In Uniform Holding Hands Of Senior Man Sitting In Care Home Lounge

    Putting cardiovascular disease at the heart of policymaking: Learning from research in the devolved nations

    Deaths from heart attacks and strokes have halved since the 1960s and people living with these conditions have seen remarkable improvements in managing and treating them. But now progress is stalling.