Spark Ignite Innovation Competition to improve patient care and healthcare

Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI), the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the National Health and Social Care Professions Office (HSCP), the Office of the Nursing and Midwifery Services Director (ONMSD), and National Doctor Training and Planning (NDTP) today announced the launch of the third HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite Innovation Competition.

Spark Ignite Innovation Competition

HSE staff who work across the Irish healthcare system carry out wonderful work daily. This past year their response to the COVID-19 pandemic made an enormous difference to patients across all primary care, acute and national services. These front-line workers see the problems first-hand and have the expertise and passion to develop solutions. This competition provides an opportunity for those staff to develop their ideas for solutions. The very best ‘big ideas’ from healthcare staff will be assessed, developed and showcased through this competition.

This one-of-a-kind competition is seeking innovative ideas from the 115,000+ HSE employees aiming to improve patient and healthcare outcomes. HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite is open to all disciplines and departments within the HSE, enabling staff to develop their ideas through validation of clinical need and to determine the market for their proposed solution, product, or service. Successful applicants will also receive guidance on how to bring their ideas towards reality.

Through this continued partnership, healthcare staffs’ contribution, experience, and insight will be supported in developing solutions to real problems within healthcare. HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite is an opportunity for all healthcare staff to put forward their ideas for innovative products or services. The goal of the HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite Competition is to assist staff to develop solutions to the challenges faced by healthcare providers and patients.

Successful applicants will benefit from a bespoke healthcare focused innovation workshop delivered by experts, to hone their idea and proceed to pitch for prizes including a €3000 prize for an individual winner, €3,000 team prize and three runner up prizes of €1,000, in three regional competitions, followed by a National final for the six regional finalists.

Last year’s HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite was a phenomenal success, delivered entirely online in lieu of COVID-19 restrictions. Further information on last years’ winners and the competition itself is available on www.hih.ie.

Welcoming the competition launch again this year Chief Executive of the HSE, Mr Paul Reid said: “The most innovative ideas come from within the HSE, those who live and work within the healthcare system. It is inspiring to see that even during this pandemic, our staff across the HSE continue to bring forward their ideas for improvement and developing new solutions to the challenges they and their patients are facing. I’d like to thank staff for their continued dedication and hard work, and look forward to seeing the entries and winners from this year’s competition and how we can implement these innovations across the healthcare system.”

Dr Tanya Mulcahy, Interim Director Health Innovation Hub Ireland encouraged applications saying ‘I am always so impressed at the calibre of ideas submitted to this programme, with many former winning ideas now impacting patients. It is the combination of front-line staff ideas and passion coupled with the innovation development expertise of our team that continues to deliver great solutions.  If you’ve always wanted to develop your idea- this is the opportunity to do that’

Applications are straight forward, submitted via an online portal on www.hih.ie. The call opens on 15 February 2021 and will close on 25 March 2021.

Dr Steven Griffin, Innovation from Healthcare Lead, HIHI, outlines the value of the programme. “This unique programme not only provides seed funding to develop good ideas assessed by a panel of experts but gives the participants the opportunity to learn about the innovation process. It will afford HSE staff the opportunity to learn the skills required to identify and develop good ideas as well as understanding how to frame that idea to gather support from all stakeholders including peers, management, and funders. The value of the programme is in the fact that previous participants have become champions of innovation.”

Dr Alan Hopkins, National Fellow for Innovation and Change said: “After the fantastic success of HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite last year when it continued despite challenging times I am very excited to see the creative and innovative solutions from frontline workers in the HSE. The willingness that we continue to see from frontline workers to engage in such programmes despite the level of work they are doing is truly admirable and supporting entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship is more important than ever. With the workshops, mentorship and other supports that the programme offers we are sure to see the same brilliant standard of creative solutions this year.”

Last year’s National Winner of the 2020 HIHI Spark Ignite Competition, Marie Ronan, Senior Clinical Pharmacist, Mayo University Hospital spoke about the competition. “Rose and I are delighted and proud to win this prestigious award for the Antimicrobial Stewardship Team and Pharmacy Department at Mayo University Hospital. Being shortlisted for the HIHI Spark Ignite Award was an honour especially with the high calibre of entrants.

The training workshops provided by Health Innovation Hub Ireland were an excellent learning experience and will benefit us long into our careers. Spark Ignite has given us the confidence and the know how to bring all the elements of our project together and present them in a clear meaningful way. We would strongly encourage anyone with an innovative idea to enter this competition. We are forever grateful to the team at Spark Ignite, for their dedication their drive and their patience.”

A pilot of Rose and Marie’s solution in Mayo University Hospital demonstrated a €100,000 decrease in spend on antibiotics over a two-year period, a 93% decrease in the use of the most broad spectrum antibiotics, a 45% decrease in the use of IV antibiotics, and a reduction in patient hospital stay from 4.14 days to 3.76. They intend to develop their user-friendly solution for pilot in other hospitals.

The 2020 Regional Winners said:

Helen Ryan, Senior Medical Scientist, University Hospital Galway and Regional Winner, Galway. “The HIHI Spark Ignite Programme has provided me with invaluable advice and support which has allowed me to pursue my idea in a more focused and meaningful way. It has given innovators like me a platform to engage in the process of interactive learning, avail of expert coaching and mentorship, enhance my leadership skills and allowed me to gain a better appreciation of what is involved in bringing an idea from concept to commercialisation. It was also a valuable opportunity to extend my support network and work cross functionally with professionals with very different domain expertise including those working in design, regulatory and finance.”

Helen aims to create an innovative testing platform to support clinical decision-making and allow for timely obstetric interventions in at-risk pregnancies. Helen is working with HIHI and Enterprise Ireland to explore the market opportunity and the process of bring her innovative solution towards reality.

Norma Caples, Clinical Nurse Specialist and Registered Nurse Prescriber at University Hospital Waterford and Regional Winner, Cork. “Nurses are natural innovators. We are often faced with challenges on how to provide best care for the patient and therefore we become experts at problem solving. The challenge I found with an idea for a solution, is where or who to go to, to explore if the idea for a solution is worth developing.

Many great ideas from nurses have been lost to lack of knowing on how to develop or explore these ideas for solutions. I was so excited when I read about the HIHI Spark Ignite competition. I had found a way to have my idea heard by those who had the skills to help me. This platform provides the opportunity for creditable ideas by nurses, health care and allied health professionals, to be developed into much needed solutions.

This will improve the healthcare system for the patient, healthcare workers and HSE. The competition taught me the skills of how to pitch my idea and move an idea forward, through mentoring provided by HIHI. I will use these invaluable skills throughout my nursing career.” Norma’s Fluid Tracker App for heart failure patients is now available to download from the Irish Heart Foundation website and is already impacting patients during the current pandemic.

Norma’s Fluid Heart Tracker is a simple mobile phone app designed in conjunction with and for those living with the risk heart failure. The app records patients’ weights and alerts the user to a significant weight gain, which may be associated with fluid retention, an indication of a health failure event. This allows patients to seek medical attention in time. There is a potential cost saving to the HSE of €15,000 per heart failure patient per year through early identification of symptoms.