Highlights from the 19th National Health Summit

Last week our EIT Health Ireland-UK team attended the 19th National Health Summit in Dublin, hosted by the Business Post. This annual event brings together leaders from across the health service in Ireland to explore the impact of current reforms on service delivery and share experiences of the reality of working on the ground in this complex system.

Here is a snapshot of what we learned about:

1. Building a better future for Ireland

Brian Dolan, Director at Health Service 360, kicked off the event, highlighting the importance of building a patient-centered healthcare system.

“Reframing our thinking away from deficits towards a value-based patient-centered approach is essential.”

Brian also talked about why time, rather than money, is the connecting currency in healthcare. This approach aligns with one of our key focus areas at EIT Health to promote new models to deliver healthcare in Europe, such as value-based healthcare.

2. Health policy meets healthcare

Our team heard from leaders who are working to implement changes throughout the entire system. Sara Burke, Associate Professor at Trinity College Dublin pointed out one way reform to the healthcare system could be achieved.

“The key to reform is improving transparency.”

Others such as Caitriona Walsh, President & Managing Director at Novartis Ireland emphasised the importance of collaboration and partnerships to facilitate change.

3. Innovation on the frontline

“Every healthcare worker plays a vital role in the ‘Innovating Engine’.”

Caitriona Heffernan, Innovation Lead for the Spark Innovation Programme, explained how the Health Service Executive (HSE) is supporting, promoting and recognizing innovation on the frontline via the Spark initiative.

This was followed by presentations of two award-winning innovations to emerge from the Programme. Norma Caples, Advanced Nurse Practitioner in Heart Failure in University Hospital Waterford, introduced the Fluid Heart Tracker App,whilst Aoife Collins, Physiotherapist in South Lee Primary Care Cork pitched her Rapid-Access Online Back Care(ABC) Programme.

EIT Health Ireland-UK Education Lead David Pollard joined a panel of experts to give advice to those frontline innovators pitching their ideas on how best to move forward. At EIT Health, we offer training supports to frontline healthcare workers through workshops and education courses, for example in AI or design thinking in collaboration with HSE Spark. Other initiatives we offer include the WorkInHealth Foundation which aims to support and contribute to the upskilling and reskilling of the European health workforce.

David Pollard, Education Lead at EIT Health Ireland-UK, with other panellists Siobhain Duggan, Director of Innovation & Healthcare at GS1 Ireland, Andy Bleaden, Community Director at ECH Alliance

During the event, we ran a poll to find out which skills are set to become more in-demand across the health service in future. Discover the results below:

4. Transforming healthcare delivery

We heard from David Wall, Chief Information Officer at Tallaght University Hospital on the innovative and strategic approach to digital enabled care being implemented across the campus and how the hospital has been leveraging virtual wards and proactive care in the post-pandemic era.

We were inspired by the innovative solutions and ideas presented by frontline healthcare professionals at the summit. If you have a business idea that could shake up the European health landscape, check out EIT Health’s Bootcamps to give your start-up the chance to explore its full market potential and connect with a network of fellow entrepreneurs and innovators across Europe.

Sponsors of the 19th National Health Summit