Life Sciences Blueprint to build a strong and healthy future for Britain

The Office for Life Sciences (OLS) Blueprint sets out to transform the UK environment for life sciences companies and ensure faster patient access to cutting-edge medicines and technologies.

The OLS forms part of the Government’s active industrial policy.

Agreed across Government, and with industry, academia and the NHS, key actions include:

· The Government, with the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), will introduce an "Innovation Pass", a 3-year initiative that will make selected innovative medicines available on the NHS for a time-limited period. The Pass will be piloted in 2010/2011, with a budget of £25 million; (cf 2.5)

· The NHS Chief Executive will review system levers and incentives, including Payment by Results, to accelerate the uptake of medical technologies; (cf 2.9)

· The Government will reinforce the need for greater emphasis on research and clinical trials in the next NHS Operating Framework; (cf 2.10)

· From 2010, the Society of Biology will begin to accredit undergraduate bioscience degrees to help ensure that graduates leave with the core mathematical and practical skills and competencies required by employers; (cf 3.5)

· The Government will support the formation of a UK Life Sciences Super Cluster to co-ordinate work across industry, Higher Education and the NHS, and to boost international recognition of UK life sciences; (cf 3.9)

· The Technology Strategy Board (TSB) will launch an £18 million “RegenMed” programme of investment to support commercial R&D with additional funding from the Medical Research Council, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The TSB has also committed to improve its expertise in the life sciences. (cf 4.8)

· The Government will invest an extra £1 million to promote the UK and NHS brands at flagship life sciences events in the UK and overseas.

Lord Drayson, Minister for Science & Innovation, said:

“The UK life sciences have everything going for them: world-class facilities, talented scientists and entrepreneurial flair. By championing innovation, the NHS can support the life sciences industry in developing ways to improve people’s health. And we are changing how industry, academia, Government and the NHS work together to create jobs and ensure a bright future for this country."

Lord Darzi, Health Minister for Quality and Innovation, said:

“By placing innovation at the heart of healthcare delivery we will help create a pioneering NHS, one that responds to patients expectations, and one where the adoption of new ideas and the diffusion of innovation is encouraged and supported.

"Establishing a culture of innovation is also essential for the NHS to meet any current economic challenges, and the Life Sciences Blueprint will help us continue to support this country's knowledge industries and ensure that we benefit from the competitive edge which they provide.”

Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive of NICE, said:

“Securing a successful future for the life sciences industries is important for patients and the UK economy. NICE is committed to engaging constructively with companies and we are extending the access that companies have to us, as we appraise their products. The Innovation Pass is an opportunity for data to be gathered on potentially important new treatments. NICE has been involved in discussions about the Innovation Pass, and we are looking forward to continuing to play a key role in developing the Pass.”

The Blueprint forms a key part of Building Britain’s Future, the Government’s vision for the country’s future on the other side of the recession. As first set out in “New Industries, New Jobs”, the Government is pursuing a new, more active industrial policy to drive growth and create high-value jobs of the future.

O'Brien attacks Labour's failure to put National Flu Line in place

New research has revealed that the National Flu Line Service, a key part of the Government’s framework for dealing with pandemic flu, is still not in place – a year and a half after it was announced.

The phoneline, which is meant to come online when pandemic flu reaches ‘Phase 5’ by the World Health Organisation’s categorisation, is supposed to be able to take a minimum of 6 million calls a week.

But Lord Darzi has admitted that the line will not be ready until autumn this year – meaning the country will be without it for at least 5 months after cases of swine flu were confirmed in the UK.

Stephen O’Brien, the Shadow Health Minister, said, “The National Flu Line will be crucial if a pandemic were to happen in Britain, by allowing people to get the information and the anti-virals they will need to fight the flu without having to go to GP surgeries or hospitals.”

He stressed, “It is absolutely imperative that the Government takes action quickly to ensure that it is able to deal with the high numbers of calls from people who will need help should the (swine flu) virus spread in the UK.”

(DH) Government outlines changes to GP quality incentive scheme

Delivering the best possible care for patients will be at the heart of changes to the GP quality incentive scheme, the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), Health Minister Ben Bradshaw announced today.

Following a 13-week consultation with the NHS and stakeholders, from 1 April 2009 the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) will oversee the annual process of reviewing the clinical indicators included in QOF. The consultation sought views from clinicians, patient organisations, NHS commissioners and the public. Using its experience in providing independent clinical advice, NICE will now review the benefits to patients and the cost effectiveness of the indicators used to assess the quality of care provided by GP practices. NICE will be responsible for developing a more transparent and inclusive process for setting priorities with input from patients and carers, primary care professionals and other stakeholders.

The final choice of QOF indicators will remain a matter for negotiation between the British Medical Association (BMA) and NHS Employers, based on the advice produced by NICE. QOF supports the work of other schemes for improving healthcare such as extended opening hours which means patients now have access to a GP at evenings and weekends.

Health Minister Ben Bradshaw said:

"The UK leads the world in providing incentives to GPs to improve the quality of patient care. We have come a long way in addressing health problems thanks to the current scheme.

"We want to ensure that GP practices continue to deliver more improvements to patient care, and are better supported in keeping patients healthy.

"It is important that the scheme continues to provide the best health outcomes and value for money for patients. Asking NICE to lead this new process for prioritising and reviewing indicators will ensure the system is constantly updated to meet changing health needs."

The QOF rewards GP practices for managing some of the most common chronic diseases such as diabetes or heart failure; improving health; organising practices well; how patients view their experience at the surgery and the quality of extra services offered such as child health and maternity services. A commitment was made in High Quality Care for All, Lord Darzi's review of the NHS, to develop a new, independent and transparent process for prioritising and reviewing QOF to ensure it continues to support GPs in delivering the best possible care for patients.