Frequently Asked Questions
How will my entry be evaluated and what will happen afterwards?
What happens if my product is chosen for a hospital evaluation?
Will participation in the project affect my intellectual property rights?
What are HCAIs?
Heathcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) are infections acquired in hospitals or surgeries, care homes or other locations as a result of healthcare treatment. They are caused by microorganisms, often by bacteria that normally live harmlessly in or on our body.
The prevalence of HCAIs in England has remained relatively constant over the last 25 years, although the organisms responsible for the infections have changed, with new strains developing and others being controlled.
Back to topWhy are they such a problem?
Although the chances of acquiring an HCAI are low, when a patient does it is extremely distressing for them, their family and the NHS staff treating them.
Infection is also costly. On average, it adds three to ten days on to a patient’s stay in hospital and for Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) that stay will be even longer. Financially it can cost between £4,000 and £10,000 to treat a patient with an infection1.
1. Department of Health (2008). Clean, safe care – Reducing infections and saving lives. (Accessed on 18 June 2008; www.clean-safe-care.nhs.uk).
Back to topWhich are the most dangerous bugs?
In the UK we face particular challenges from methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile).
About 30 per cent of the population have some type of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria living naturally on their skin or in their nose, where it usually does them no harm. MRSA is a strain of the S. aureus bacterium which is resistant to commonly used antibiotics and is present in around three per cent of the population. It is no more infectious than other strains of S. aureus but can be more difficult to treat and therefore infections may become more severe.
MRSA is usually spread through direct skin-to-skin contact, or by touching materials and surfaces contaminated from someone infected with it.
C. difficile is a bacterium that lives in the gut of about three per cent of healthy adults in England. It is kept at bay by normal bacteria, but if those bacteria are killed by antibiotics, C. difficile can proliferate. In most cases, the infection develops after cross-infection from another patient.
Patients with C difficile excrete large numbers of spores in their faeces which contaminate the environment. Over 80 per cent of cases are in people aged over 65. Unlike MRSA, C. difficile spores are not killed by alcohol.
Back to topWhat is the NHS doing about HCAIs?
Reducing Heathcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) is one of the NHS’s top priorities and it has set some challenging targets, for example to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infections by 2011.
The NHS has launched a range of initiatives including the HCAI Technology Innovation Programme, which aims to speed up the adoption of technologies to combat infections. As part of the programme, in 2004 it set up the Rapid Review Panel (RRP) to provide independent advice on technologies that may be of value to the NHS in reducing infection.
The panel makes recommendations in one of seven categories. RRP 1 means that evaluations have shown benefits and, where practical, these technologies are being placed in the supply chain catalogue as soon as possible to make them readily available to the NHS. At the other end of the scale, RRP 7 means the product is not sufficiently related to infection control procedures to merit consideration by the panel.
Smart Solutions is another part of the HCAI Technology Innovation Programme and is the first step on the road to achieving an RRP 1 status. It is an opportunity for companies in all industry sectors to have their products evaluated and to build evidence of their value to the NHS.
Back to topHow will my entry be evaluated and what will happen afterwards?
Entries will be assessed by an independent panel of experts on the basis of their potential value in helping the NHS to prevent or control the spread of Heathcare Associated Infections (HCAI s). The most promising technologies will be placed on a shortlist. You can expect to be notified by 1 December 2008 as to whether your product has been shortlisted.
A number of those on the shortlist will be selected to go forward to the next phase of the project, in which they will be evaluated within a hospital setting. Evaluations will begin in early 2009, with the duration dependent on the nature of the product.
Back to topWhat happens if my product is chosen for a hospital evaluation?
We will contact you once a decision has been made to discuss detailed arrangements. However, your product will be allocated to a hospital which has volunteered to take part in the evaluation process. Funding is available within the project to support the evaluations. However, the company involved will be expected to provide the product to trial free of charge. You will receive a report on the outcome of the evaluation which you will be able to present to the Rapid Review Panel.
In some cases support may be available to further develop the product, if this is considered worthwhile.
Back to topWill participation in the project affect my intellectual property rights?
You will retain full ownership of intellectual property (IP) rights relating to your product or technology. The only exception to this would be if the NHS were to embark with you on a joint project to carry out further product development. In this case we may request shared ownership rights. However, this would be made clear in advance and arrangements agreed between both parties.
Back to topWhat happens if my application is not successful?
We will keep your details on file in case of future opportunities. We are also looking at ways to bring together companies which have applied for the programme, to create a forum to enable them to network and share ideas.
Where appropriate we will also provide feedback on your ideas which may be useful in helping you develop other products.
Back to topI am from a hospital which is considering volunteering to take part in evaluations. What would be the benefits for us and what level of commitment would this involve?
Your hospital will have the opportunity to test innovative products, and this may well play a part in your ongoing infection control programme. It also offers infection control and nursing staff the chance to be involved in a major evaluation project.
There is funding available for the evaluation process, to help cover staff time, data collection and other costs
We will be awarding evaluation projects to hospitals that can demonstrate a high level of commitment to the project, demonstrating a willingness to work in partnership and robust organisational leadership.
Back to topSubscribe For Updates
To receive updates about the Smart Solutions project, register your interest here.