Funding competition Keeping prescription continuity whilst moving between care providers: SBRI competition

Organisations can apply for a share of £1,250,000, including VAT, to develop a solution to improve the medication pathway for people entering custody.

Competition opens: Monday 4 February 2019
Registration closes: Wednesday 13 March 2019 12:00pm

This competition is now closed.

Description

This is a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition with funding provided by the GovTech Catalyst for the Department of Health in Northern Ireland . The aim of the competition is to source new innovative technology solutions to improve the medication pathway for people entering custody.

When people enter custody from home, police cells or court the process of moving them and information about any prescriptions they are collecting is complicated. The police need consent to access patient information and get authorisation to share it with other appropriate organisations.

People are transported from court to prison between 5pm and 7pm, when medical and pharmacy services are closed. Their current medication is verified using the Electronic Care Record (ECR). It is only when people enter prison and sign their consent that staff can access the ECR and start the prescribing process, but by then doctors’ surgeries are closed for consultation. Only 13% of medications are prescribed on the first night by the committal nursing team.

The overall programme will be delivered over 2 phases. This is phase 1 of a potential 2-phase competition.

This competition closes at 12pm midday UK time on the deadline stated.

Phase 1: feasibility study

The first phase involves research and development contracts being awarded to demonstrate technical feasibility of the proposed solution. A total of up to £250,000, including VAT, is allocated to phase 1 of the competition.

Phase 2: prototype development and evaluation

The second phase involves up to 2 R&D contracts being awarded to businesses chosen from the successful phase 1 applicants. Up to £500,000, including VAT, will be allocated for each contract, in order to develop a prototype and undertake field testing for up to 12 months.

Funding type

Procurement

Project size

We expect projects to range in size up to total costs of £50,000, including VAT, for each organisation.

Who can apply

To lead a project, you can:

be an organisation of any size
work alone or with others from business, the research base or the third sector as subcontractors

Projects must start on 17 June 2019, end by 17 November 2019 and can last up to 5 months

You must:

be prepared to adopt a valid technical approach
be innovative and be prepared to develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or techniques
have a clear plan for establishing technical and commercial feasibility and the development of a working prototype
have appropriate skills, capabilities and experience within your consortium to deliver the project
have a budget that is realistic and justified for aims and methods proposed
have a plan to deliver a marketable product and demonstrate how that product would have a competitive advantage over existing or alternative technologies
demonstrate a willingness to work with the competition owner and spend time on site in Northern Ireland throughout the project

Funding

This is phase 1 of a potential 2-phase competition. A decision to proceed with phase 2 will depend on the outcomes from phase 1. Only successful applicants from phase 1 will be able to apply to take part in phase 2.

Applications must have at least 50% of the contract value attributed directly and exclusively for R&D services. R&D can cover solution exploration and design. It can also include prototyping and field-testing the product or service. R&D does not include:

commercial development activities such as quantity production
supply to establish commercial viability or to recover R&D costs
integration, customisation or incremental adaptations and improvements to existing products or processes

Phase 1: research and development contracts, feasibility study

It is anticipated that the feasibility study research and development (R&D) contracts will be in the region of up to £50,000 including VAT. This is for each project for up to 5 months. We expect to fund up to 5 projects. The assessors will consider fair value in making their evaluation.

We would welcome bids that bring together a consortium of sector specialists.

Phase 2: research and development contracts, prototype development and testing

The second phase involves up to 2 R&D contracts being awarded to businesses chosen from the successful phase 1 applicants. Up to £500,000, including VAT will be allocated for each contract, in order to develop a prototype and undertake field testing for up to 12 months.

Your proposal

The aim of this competition is to source new innovative technology solutions to improve the medication pathway for people entering custody.

The solution should innovate communication in the committal process through the use of real-time information sharing across stakeholder organisations. This will improve the experience and well-being of the person in custody. It will also reduce the number of incidents on prison arrivals related to delayed medication.

In phase 1 you must demonstrate the technical feasibility of the proposed concept. We expect you to work with practitioners from the following organisations and take into account their needs and experience:

South Eastern and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Prison Service
PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland, including the Forensic Medical Service)
NICTS (Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service) in Northern Ireland

If you are chosen to take part in phase 2 you must test the solution in field trials in Maghaberry Prison or Hydebank Wood College (Prison), and possibly at another prison site within the UK.

There are many ways the medication pathway for people entering custody can be improved, including the following:

Obtaining consent for treatment and sharing relevant health and medicines information early on, as well as ensuring continuity of care during transfer.
Improving the user’s well-being and reducing incidents related to delays in medication.
Reducing pressure on healthcare services by transferring information to them earlier, to give them more time to prepare.
Improving communications through innovative real-time information sharing between the Criminal Justice System Northern Ireland and healthcare providers.
Supporting Health & Social Care Northern Ireland’s commitment to the 5 rights of medication administration.

A briefing event will be held on 11 February. There you can learn more about the challenge scope, what to consider in your application and what a successful outcome would look like. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.

Projects that we will not fund

We will not fund projects that deliver something already available for purchase in the marketplace.

4 February 2019: Competition opens
11 February 2019: Belfast briefing event. Watch the recording
13 March 2019 12:00pm: Registration closes
20 March 2019 12:00pm: Competition closes
10 May 2019: Applicants notified
7 June 2019: Phase 1 contracts awarded
7 June 2019: Feedback
17 June 2019: Phase 1 commences

Before you start

To apply:

register online using the green button
read the guidance for applicants for this competition
consider attending the briefing event listed in ‘Dates’
complete and upload your online application to our secure server

We will not accept late submissions. Your application is confidential.

A selected panel of experts will assess the quality of your application. You must use Microsoft Word for the application form or your application will be ineligible.

Background and further information

About SBRI competitions

SBRI provides innovative solutions to challenges faced by the public sector. This can lead to better public services and improved efficiency and effectiveness. SBRI supports economic growth and enables the development of innovative products and services. It does this through the public procurement of research and development (R&D). SBRI generates new business opportunities for companies and provides a route to market for their ideas. It also bridges the seed funding gap experienced by many early-stage companies.

Further help and information

You can find information on how to enter this competition in the invitation to tender document, which is available for download on our secure site after registration.

Questions related to the requirements of this competition should be addressed directly to sbri.pmo@hscni.net.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact the Knowledge Transfer Network.

Watch the supplier briefing https://vimeo.com/317986121 with the password 'edit'.

View a list of previously asked questions from suppliers regarding the competition - http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/services/3024.htm.

If you need more information, email us at support@innovateuk.ukri.org or call the competition helpline on 0300 321 4357.

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