National survey finds 78% of respondents would recommend working with Wessex AHSN

Wessex AHSN has published the results of its first stakeholder survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of NHS England.

The poll was part of a national initiative to measure the current perception of Academic Health Science Networks across the country. 1,200 people from across health and social care, patient groups, academia, industry, and the charity sector took part in the survey to share their views on how the AHSNs are delivering on increasing the adoption and diffusion of innovation and research, and spreading best practice across the NHS.

We were delighted that 83% of respondents said they have a good working relationship with Wessex AHSN, which was complemented by 73% of respondents nationally saying they would recommend working with AHSNs overall. The work of the AHSN was reflected positively: 

• 74% agreed that Wessex AHSN has clear and visible leadership
  
• 74% say that Wessex AHSN priorities are aligned to local priorities
  
• 66% believe in our ability to deliver on our priorities
  
• 85% say that Wessex AHSN staff are helpful.
  

You can view our full report below or download it via the resources at the end of this page:

The NHS needs to deliver a step-change in the way it identifies, adopts and spreads best practice, clinical innovations and new technologies more quickly and at scale in order to meet the enormous challenges set out in the Five Year Forward View. AHSNs have a critical role to play in equipping the NHS to do this, in particular by making productive connections between the NHS, industry, researchers and patients. They achieve impact by working with and through thousands of individuals and by acting as catalysts, brokers, coordinators, sponsors and knowledge-sharers.

The survey results show that the AHSNs have a good reputation for facilitating collaboration and supporting partners to address the needs of their local communities. They also highlight clear demand for greater visibility of the AHSNs and their role in championing the uptake of innovation in the NHS. AHSNs are working together to address this demand, including by collaborating on the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme, supporting NHS England’s test beds initiative and providing input to the government’s Accelerated Access Review. Together, AHSNs are helping to put the NHS at the forefront of collaborative working for system-wide improvement and mobilise world-leading expertise within the NHS in support of economic growth.

Adrian Bull, Chair of the AHSN Network and Managing Director of Imperial College Health Partners said: “I am encouraged by the results of this survey – not just in terms of the number of stakeholders who felt moved to provide feedback, but also by the progress and impact that the AHSNs have demonstrated to date.

“Our stakeholders are clearly happy to continue working with us, and see great value in our abilities to both understand the local health landscape and needs, and facilitate collaboration with partners to address them. However, we have noted the clear demand for greater visibility of the AHSNs, and we will continue to develop this through building on the good working relationships which have already been established right across the country."

Thank you to our stakeholders who took part in this survey. The full results of the Wessex AHSN survey can be viewed in Available Downloads below. You can also find out more about the national survey initiative on the NHS England website.

Resources:

NHS England: AHSN 360 National Stakeholder Survey

AHSN Network