The ILC-UK has launched a Commission Inquiry on Health and Wellbeing Innovation, supported by Audley Group and EY.

The UK has always been a great source of innovation in health and care, from the invention of the small pox vaccine to the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA. Today the UK is considered a world leader in life sciences (pharmaceuticals, medical biotechnology and medical technology) second only to the US, contains some of the world’s best research universities and is an early adopter of transformational technologies in medicine, principally in informatics and genomics.

However, while the UK may rank highly for innovation per se, and does manage to foster some successful innovation, it has a less positive record of adopting innovation at pace and scale. Just looking at healthcare as an example, despite the UK containing world leading medical technology companies and start-ups, only a tiny portion of the NHS budget is spent on diffusing new ideas and performance, despite the potential being huge.

This Commission, seeks to review the current evidence base of innovation in health and wellbeing, generate new research and thought leadership, critically explore the opportunities and barriers and set out a blueprint for future work in this area.

In order to assess the role of innovation across the ageing pathway, we are holding four Commission sessions on the following themes:

1. Retirement communities and care homes
2. The built environment including transport, planning and design
3. Physical and mental health
4. Social connections including isolation and loneliness

These four themes encompass many policy areas as we believe that a wide scope is required in order to take a ‘helicopter’ view of innovation across the ageing pathway. There has been an increased understanding from policy makers in recent years that ‘good health’ is not just about treating conditions and staying out of hospital. It is about mental health, emotional wellbeing, feeling socially connected, having a home that is suitable for your requirements and being able to participate in your community. This Commission Inquiry will be the first to bring together all of these strands and assess where good innovation is happening and where a renewed focus needs to be for all people to age well in the future.

For more information about the Commission and the individual sessions, please see below for briefing documents, biographies, and links to the Inquiry Sessions and Reports as and when they become available:

Health and Wellbeing Innovation Commission Inquiry Background Brief.

Commissioner Biographies.

1. Retirement communities and care homes – Monday 21 May
#innovationinquiry #innovateretirement

2. The built environment including transport, planning and design – Wednesday 30th May
#innovationinquiry #innovateplace

3. Physical and mental health – Monday 9th July
#innovationinquiry

4. Social connections including isolation and loneliness – Thursday 12th July
#innovationinquiry

If you would like any further information about this Commission Inquiry on Health and Wellbeing Innovation, please contact us on info@ilcuk.org.uk.