Janssen has teamed up with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) for a new programme that seeks to inspire innovative ideas in dementia care.
Its £150,000 Innovation Challenge Prize for Dementia wants those at the frontline of care to suggest solutions that can make a real and sustained difference to the lives of those affected by the condition.
Marco Mohwinckel a partner at Janssen Healthcare Innovation, told PMLiVE he hopes the Challenge will help find “new ways of lighting the fire in the NHS”
“We hope this initiative will help identify forward-thinking solutions to help transform care for people with dementia and better support their caregivers,” he said.
The programme, unveiled this week to coincide with the launch of Dementia Friends sessions, begins by asking healthcare organisations and professionals, patients, caregivers and patient groups to identify the key issues facing the treatment, diagnosis and/or ongoing management of people with dementia.
Once the scope of the challenge has been identified, interested parties will be invited to submit their innovative approaches to address the specified challenge.
An expert panel of NHS clinicians and managers, and innovation leaders from academia, industry and other sectors will then assess submissions and eventually recommend the winner or winners.
Submissions for ideas to help define the scope of the challenge close on March 20, 2013 and can be made online.
Some 800,000 people are currently living with dementia in the UK, with an estimated 670,000 family and friends acting as primary carers.
The condition also places a significant burden on NHS resources, with an estimated £23bn spent on health services each year – a figure that is predicted to increase by £5bn over the next five years.
The Innovation Challenge Prize for Dementia, one of a number of innovation challenges run by the NHS, is being supported by Janssen Healthcare Innovation, an entrepreneurial team within Janssen Research & Development.
Last year the team launched a €30,000 prize to identify cutting edge healthcare technology and also developed a new SMS mobile reminder service to improve patient compliance.