Converge wins an NHS Innovation Award

A Converge project that helps to improve the life skills of people who use mental health services has won a regional healthcare innovation award.

The Medipex Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network NHS Innovation Awards 2014, which aim to provide a platform for pioneering new ideas and technologies to improve patient care, were announced last night.

Nick Rowe, Director of Converge, jointly won the Mental Health and Wellbeing category with Jill Copeland from Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. They have been working together to offer short courses for people who use mental health services to help them develop confidence, improve their life skills and reduce social exclusion.

The courses include exercise and music classes, theatre, dance, art, life coaching and business start-up and are taught by University staff and students, providing the students with useful experience as well. The programme has seen a 30 – 60 per cent reduction in use of mental health services by those taking part.

The awards are run by Medipex, the organisation that helps nurture the development and commercialisation of innovation within the region's NHS. This year, the awards were also partnered by the Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network (Y&H AHSN), a new regional partnership between patients, health services, industry, and academia.

Richard Clark, Joint CEO of Medipex, said: “We’re very proud to be celebrating the tenth anniversary of these awards, with many of the new ideas that we’ve showcased and supported over the years having gone on to make a real and positive impact on patients in the NHS and beyond.

“It’s also fitting that the Y&H AHSN has partnered with us to support this awards, as new ideas are most likely to become reality through a successful partnership between NHS staff, patients, academic expertise and commercial backing.”

The competition was open to all NHS staff or anyone, such as a university employee, working with an NHS employee in the Yorkshire and Humber region.