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Working with Companies to Develop New Products:
Will Your NHS Contribution be Acknowledged?
Working at the forefront of the largest healthcare service in the world, NHS employees have an unrivalled understanding about patients’ needs and how to improve care. Whether your work is clinically focused, research based, or supporting IT or other services, you may find yourself collaborating with a company. When you do, it is important that you understand how best to manage the relationship and protect your interests and those of the Trust.
If you have an idea for a new product that could improve patient care (such as software or clinical equipment), then you may consider approaching a company, with a view to the company developing the product. Alternatively, a company may approach you for advice on developing, improving, or testing a product (see examples in table 1).
In the first instance, you may not fully appreciate the significance of your input. But, however small you feel your contribution is, it may be appropriate for your assistance to be acknowledged. Being at the forefront of healthcare provision, you have the potential to provide companies with invaluable specialist knowledge and feedback.
TrusTECH may be able to put processes in place to ensure that your Trust receives a share of any profits made from the sale of a product that you have been involved in developing. Most NHS Trusts in the North West are members of TrusTECH, the North West NHS Innovation Hub. Even if you have been working on the project for some time, TrusTECH may be able to help.
If you are an NHS employee working with a company or plan to speak with a company about a new product idea, contact TrusTECH, in confidence, ( T: 0161 276 5764) for assistance in arranging terms (e.g. royalty negotiations).
| Department | Example Product |
|---|---|
| Information Management and Technology (IM&T) | Software for texting patients’ mobile phones |
| Estates | Easy to clean door release switches |
| Hotel Services | New methods for cleaning wards |
| Clinicians | Orthopaedic device |
| Nurses | Incontinence product |
| Speech and Language Therapy | Teaching resources |
| Laboratory Science | Diagnostic testing kit |
Table 1: examples of products that NHS staff may develop in collaboration with companies