Alder Hey launches its first startup collaboration programme

Alder Hey Innovation Lab, run by L Marks and sponsored by DPD and Regatta will enable the world famous Alder Hey to partner with companies to maximise patient care and journeys

Today, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust is launching its first start-up accelerator programme: Alder Hey Innovation Lab, run in partnership with corporate innovation specialists, L Marks. The Innovation Lab's first sprint has been sponsored by DPD and Regatta, who will be supporting start-ups along the journey.

Since its opening their new Alder Hey in the Park hospital and healthcare campus in 2015, Alder Hey has prided itself on providing the best possible healing environment for children and their families. Through the opening of its new state-of-the-art hospital, alongside a brand-new research, innovation and education centre, Alder Hey is one of the largest children's hospitals in Europe and is recognised as a world leader in children's healthcare and research. Alder Hey's ambition is to create a world leading centre of excellence offering outstanding care, developing leading-edge research, providing the highest standards of paediatric training and accelerating the impact of game changing innovation for children and young people.

To further enhance this work, during the 14-week Innovation Lab, Alder Hey will give successful startups access to stakeholders within the Trust, gaining insights from their expertise and the opportunity to test and validate their solutions. The lab is made up of two sprints; the first 10-week sprint will focus on clinical validation followed by a 4-week commercial validation sprint where sponsor companies will provide hands on support to plan expansion of solutions across Alder Hey and beyond to maximise the impact of the programme.

The programme is designed to discover innovative solutions which can support Alder Hey in providing exceptional support to its children and young people, and their families. Applications for the first sprint of the programme are now open for start-ups that are leading the way within two key innovation opportunities:

  • Bringing UX to the patient experience; Gamification & the child WOW factor.
    Run in partnership with DPD

    In today's day and age kids expect to be wow'd through gamification and fun, which have also been proven to reduce anxiety and promote healing. We are on a mission to leverage the technology of today to engage children throughout their journey at Alder Hey. Within this category we are also on the hunt for solutions that WOW children and young people by being inclusive and supporting the patient/ family experience as a whole. Simple and streamlined solutions are welcome in this category.
  • Hospital Optimisation; Rethinking the end-to-end journey
    Run in partnership with Regatta


    It is no secret that the behind the scenes running of a hospital is a very complex process. However, so is running an airport, hotel or university. We want to reimagine the entire end-to-end operational journey with a patient, clinician and staff-centric approach. Themes within this category could include solutions to support patient management, workflow management and clinician support. Therefore, meeting a number of stakeholders needs is a crucial aspect to this category. Solutions offered need to be simple and easy to implement within the wider hospital team.
  • Further categories (January 2022 onwards)
    Partners to be confirmed

    As part of the Alder Hey Innovation Lab, we will be running future categories within 2 more sprints. These categories include;
    - Future of training; Haptics and simulation to create clinicians of the future
    - Non-invasive Diagnostics; Sensors and wearables to test and monitor
    - Surgical Safety; Eliminating human error and no never events
    - Wildcard

Further information on Alder Hey Innovation Lab and how to apply can be found on the website: alderheylab.com Applications close at 23:59 GMT on Friday, 25th September 2021.

Claire Liddy, Managing Director of Innovation, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"We are thrilled to be partnering with L Marks as their first Innovation Lab in a healthcare setting. The Alder Hey Innovation Lab will bring emerging technologies into the healthcare setting to solve some of the biggest healthcare challenges facing children and young people today and have global impact to give them a better chance for a healthier future."

Daniel Saunders, Chief Executive Officer of L Marks, said:
"We are really excited to be launching the Alder Hey Innovation Lab in partnership with DPD and Regatta. The lab will enable Alder Hey to access technologies that will make an impact on the lives of children, young people and their families for years to come. Our goal is that the technologies found and tested within Alder Hey will improve care not only for Alder Hey patients but, in time, will improve the lives of children around the world. We are very grateful to DPD and Regatta for coming onboard to support this initiative and look forward to growing the programme with other partners."

 

Notes to editors:

For additional information or images, please contact:

Jennifer Walker, Programme Manager, L Marks
jennifer@lmarks.com


About Alder Hey:

Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust provides care for over 330,000 children and young people every year. Alder Hey delivers clinical excellence for all children, for routine illnesses as well as very complex and rare conditions.

One of four stand-alone children's hospitals in the UK, it is a national centre for neuro and craniofacial surgery, a regional centre for burns injuries and a Centre of Excellence for children with cancer, heart, spinal and brain disease. Alder Hey as an NIHR funded Clinical Research Facility (CRF) that specialises in the design, and delivery, of early phase drug trials in children with a wide range of conditions.

The Trust is one of only four epilepsy surgical centres in the UK and one of only two accredited major trauma centres in the North West. Alder Hey is also a respiratory Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) surge centre and is the referral centre for the treatment of congenital heart defects in North West England, North Wales and Isle of Man. It became the first UK Centre of Excellence for Childhood Lupus in 2010.

Alder Hey is the first accredited Investing in Children hospital in the UK. It has a dedicated patient experience programme which includes the award-winning Alder Hey Arts involving music therapy, dance programmes, storytelling and animation projects. It is also one of a few hospitals to have a Children and Young Person's Forum.

Alder Hey opened a new hospital 'Alder Hey in the Park' in 2015. Europe's first hospital in a park, the new facility provides a purpose-built, unique and world class healing environment for children and young people.

Alder Hey is supported by The Alder Hey Children's Charity which aims to raise vital funds for lifesaving equipment, research projects and patient experience initiatives.

For more information visit www.alderhey.nhs.uk and www.alderheycharity.org

About L Marks:

L Marks are specialists in corporate innovation, helping partners achieve their strategic goals through proven value-driven innovation initiatives.

Having launched over 70 innovation programmes across the UK, Europe, Israel, Asia, and the US, L Marks is embedding a culture of innovation across industries. We have created the UK's largest network of Innovation Labs, powering transformation within some of the world's best-known brands, including Lloyd's of London, BMW Group, and Arsenal FC, and consistently generating demonstrable results.

Through our open innovation methodologies, we support our partners to discover, develop and deploy technologies that drive new revenue streams, harness intelligence, increase efficiency, improve customer experience, and help future-proof their operations. Our internal innovation expertise is empowering our partners' talent, equipping employees with new tools to develop and deploy innovative solutions from within.

By creating these relationships and experiences, L Marks is establishing innovation as a key characteristic across our partners' businesses, driving a dynamic culture and, ultimately, fuelling growth.

Find out more at: www.lmarks.comhttp://twitter.com/LMarks