Lord Darzi and the Time Lords

Published : 26 March 2010

The timing of the announcement by the Department of Health of NHS Global might be regarded as pre electoral gesturing. But it is of longer gestation and properly focuses attention upon one of the great potential public sector intangible asset bases that we have. Namely, the huge investment in technology, scientific research and knowhow which is tested and applied within the NHS every day, and which could be leveraged commercially for the advantage of UK PLC and back to the NHS itself.

Such at least is the thesis behind the launch of NHS Global. It is intended to provide six main support activities to help the NHS  create  commercial opportunities internationally viz. “by generating demand in international markets; brokering partnerships between NHS organisations and overseas customers; identifying potential legal issues and risks; providing advice on Intellectual Property management; and marketing and communications.”

Health Secretary Andy Burnham quoted the BBC Worldwide as a possible  model for NHS Global’s activities.

The  announcement of a consultation today – before the anticipated launch of NHS Global in “the summer” – is to be warmly  welcomed.  This is of wide national interest – to the NHS and to UK PLC.  And naturally there are challenges:

The BBC Worldwide analogy is not wholly apt. Even if we ignore the smoking time bomb of the BBC’s relationship with Competition Law, the BBC and its programmes are very different to the NHS and its innovations.  The BBC is highly centralist, has firm control (with little legal opaqueness) of its intellectual property, knows where to locate it (discovery), and is selling finished products. No neurosurgeon’s expertise, nor NHS knowhow equivalent is required to  switch on an episode of Dr Who!

The nature of the innovations process itself  presents difficulties. Inventions and applications are often conceived by individuals or small teams, incubated not only within the NHS but in spin out companies and Newcos, supported by angels and VCs as well as taxes. Sometimes the IP will be unambiguously within the NHS,  but often – particularly the longer the gestation of the product or application – may lie outside.  Products often become products only after a complex early life cycle – not yet fit to be “sold” without considerable involvement and engagement by the parent innovator or organisation.

Organisationally how will the proposed NHS Global relate to the activities of the NHS Institute for Innovation and the NHS Innovations Hubs? What about the future of commercial joint ventures, such as the Information Centre’s Doctor Foster Intelligence, which was originally conceived to harness the informatics potential of the NHS, internationally as well as in the home market?

Culturally, how will the famously centrifugal tendencies of the NHS Trusts and Arms Length Bodies be corralled into a single innovations and exploitation flow?

Not withstanding such challenges, there is a big prize here – and Darzi’s team have correctly diagnosed that there are some gaps: not least the absence of a “Discovery” tool to highlight innovations and inventions; and the absence in part of go to market skills, processes and enablement. (Though the NHSIII and the Innovation Hubs are rightly proud of what they have achieved).

Lord Darzi’s team are pursuing a worthy cause – but finding the best model to realise the true international value of our healthcare investment within the innovations life cycle, and within the complex heritage of the NHS will be a challenging task.