Health Innovation Manchester has published its Annual Impact Report for 2021 to 2022, showcasing the breadth of innovation activity that has taken place across Greater Manchester’s health and care system over the last year.

The report, entitled “Transformation through Innovation”, includes patient stories, expert opinions and case studies from Health Innovation Manchester’s portfolio of innovation activity.

The report features a spotlight on each of Health Innovation Manchester’s key pillars including:

• Data Science, Pathway Analysis and Transformation – with the rollout GM Care Record now supporting the care and treatment of over 140k citizens each month and research supporting Greater Manchester’s response to COVID-19.
• Conduct traditional trials and real-world studies – including partnering with industry on a pioneering study to test a novel cholesterol-lowering treatment in the community.
• Place-based transformation – with Cities Changing Diabetes exploring Greater Manchester’s challenges and opportunities to improve care for diabetes as part of an international collaboration.

Health Innovation Manchester is also celebrating its five-year anniversary as Greater Manchester’s Academic Health Science Network during October 2022. After forming in 2017, Health Innovation Manchester has developed into an established world-leading integrated health science and innovation system.

After bringing together the former Greater Manchester academic health science network (GM AHSN) and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) under a single umbrella, Health Innovation Manchester has since been joined by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Greater Manchester (ARC-GM) to deliver on world-leading research across the city-region.

These mergers and collaborations have allowed Health Innovation Manchester to harness research, digital and industry expertise, to improve and accelerate innovation at pace and scale for the benefit of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million citizens.

Rowena Burns, Chair at Health Innovation Manchester, said: “Health Innovation Manchester’s core offer to the GM system is delivering a programme of industry-led innovations to support key health and care priorities that improve outcomes for citizens, reduce inequalities, enable transformation of care pathways, support service improvement and deliver economic benefits to all parts of GM.

“With the national formation of Integrated Care Systems, Health Innovation Manchester has been working in close collaboration with system partners to ensure research, innovation and digital remain top strategic priorities for the system into the future.”

Professor Ben Bridgewater, Chief Executive at Health Innovation Manchester, said: “As we look to 2022-2023, Health Innovation Manchester will continue to pave the way at a city-region level. With health innovation confirmed as one of the top four priorities for the GM Integrated Care System, Health Innovation Manchester will act as the lead agency in this area, acting on behalf of system partners.

“We will continue to build on the existing health innovation assets in GM to stimulate local economic growth and prosperity as part of a joined-up approach to innovation in GM, across the North of England and UK.”