Wessex AHSN publishes its 2022-23 Annual Review

Wessex Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) has today published its annual review, highlighting milestones and achievements from the 2022-23 financial year.

The review demonstrates how Wessex AHSN has worked with its partners and innovators to support local health and care systems over the past year, improving patient outcomes and driving economic growth.

This includes generating £31 million for more than 250 companies through sales, investments and grants, and releasing over 7,000 GP hours through the use of electronic repeat dispensing (eRD).

Alongside key impacts for 2022-23, the report features:

• A video introduction and a thank you to partners from Bill Gillespie, Chief Executive of Wessex AHSN 
• Learnings and outputs from national and local programmes of work
• Links to resources such as videos, podcasts, toolkits and reports

Hear from our Chief Executive Officer, Bill Gillespie, who shares highlights and reflections from the past year, and looks ahead to 2023-24.

In 2022-23, Wessex AHSN continued its work to transform the way that the NHS identifies, adopts and spreads promising and proven innovations.

From projects to address health inequalities and reduce workforce pressures, to initiatives which promote environmental sustainability and drive digital transformation, the review showcases Wessex AHSN’s diverse portfolio of projects and programmes which have been developed collaboratively with local and national partners to improve health and care outcomes for the Wessex population.

It also describes how Wessex AHSN has worked closely with its Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in both Dorset and Hampshire and Isle of Wight to co-design delivery plans aligned to local priorities, which will be taken forward in 2023-24.

Commenting on 2022-23, Nicola Bent, Wessex AHSN Deputy Chief Executive, said:

“Last year our combined efforts as an organisation generated substantial economic growth for the region and nationally. Our Insight team provided more than 2,300 hours of support to innovators, helping them to evaluate the suitability and success of their innovations in local health and care settings.

“We also continued to lead the adoption and spread of FeNO (Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide) devices on behalf of the AHSN Network. As a result of the programme, we estimate that more than 58,000 patients across England have been supported with a faster, more accurate asthma diagnosis, including more than 3,700 in Wessex.

“It's been inspiring to see the power of collaboration in supporting innovation in health and care, to understand the positive impact on our local workforce and economy, and on the health of our population.

“Earlier this year, we marked 75 years of the NHS, and said thank you to all our NHS colleagues, past and present, for everything they do. We were also proud to celebrate 10 years since AHSNs were first created by NHS England, and our role in discovering, developing, and deploying innovation.

“In 2023-24, we’re building on the strong foundations that we have established, and will improve health and care outcomes by strengthening our alignment to the systems and communities that we serve.”

You can read the full report by visiting wessexahsn.org.uk/annual-review-2022-23.

The AHSN Network Impact Report is also available to view, recognising the positive impact and contribution of Wessex AHSN alongside the other 14 AHSNs across the country, and spotlighting a number of projects and programmes delivered last financial year.