Written answers

Tuesday, 16 October 2018

Photo of Margaret Murphy O'MahonyMargaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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351. To ask the Minister for Health the annual funding provided by his Department to the EU, healthcare innovation in the State, innovation hubs and healthcare projects innovating new products in Ireland in each of the years 2013 to 2017, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41760/18]

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Recognising the importance of healthcare innovation, the Government in 2016 approved the establishment of a National Health Innovation Hub, which is known as Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI). HIHI is a joint initiative between my Department and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.

HIHI is a consortium led by University College Cork and comprising Cork Institute of Technology, National University of Ireland Galway & Trinity College Dublin. I officially launched HIHI in University College Cork in September 2016.

The aim of the initiative is to drive collaboration between the health service and the enterprise sector and the development and commercialisation of new healthcare technologies, products and services emerging from within the health service, and/or the enterprise sector. HIHI is built on the recognition that collaboration with enterprise can benefit patient care, patient pathways and outcomes.

The objectives behind the development of a Health Innovation Hub are:

- to allow healthcare companies to deliver commercial products and services more quickly by giving them appropriate access to the health service in order to test and validate and refine products in a real life environment.

- to allow the health service to find efficiencies and improvements (including to services and patient outcomes) by facilitating the HSE and hospitals to engage with innovative companies creating solutions to problems they face, and

- to support the adoption/commercialisation of new innovations developed by healthcare practitioners inside the healthcare service

HIHI has issued two calls, the first in 2016 and a second once which just closed in August 2018. I recently opened the second office of HIHI in St James Hospital, Dublin. Since its establishment HIHI has managed 200 company engagements, ran 25 studies in Irish healthcare settings, 72 companies receiving follow up support through HIHI. The recent HIHI call has shown a 46 % increase in applications to the HIHI national call aimed at companies, start-ups, SMEs compared with 2016.

A core part of HIHI in Dublin is the design and delivery of an education programmes for those working in Irish healthcare that will build a sustainable culture of improvement and innovation. It is hoped that people who participate in these programmes then become catalysts for innovation within the health system

HIHI was awarded €5 million in funding by Enterprise Ireland for five years IN 2016. In addition the HSE is receiving €0.260m annually since 2017 to support the provision of 3.9 FTE to HIHI. Importantly the HSE also provides significant in-kind support to the Hub.

eHealth Ireland, the body tasked with the promotion and implementation of the eHealth agenda in Ireland, supports innovation in eHealth through a series of events including the eHealth ecosystem, the annual 'Health Innovation Week' and hosting 'Innovation Challenges' across Ireland to encourage entrepreneurs, technologists and health care innovators both within the HSE and externally the opportunity and environment to develop their ideas and concepts further.

My Department, in co-operation with the HSE and eHealth Ireland, has made considerable progress to introduce technological improvements to our health services with the aim of improving patient safety and efficiencies. eHealth Ireland trial new ICT technology through their Quality Innovation Corridor (QIC) technology programme which has a maximum funding application amount of €25k each. The programme is primarily aimed at the assessment of the application of new technology, rather than for the innovation of new products. I have been advised that each QIC application is appraised on its merits and as such, expenditure is made on a case-by-case basis. Since it is not readily available, I have asked the HSE to collate the expenditure information and to forward it to the Deputy.

I also understand that my Department does not provide funding directly to the European Union for innovation.

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