Celebrating two years of our partnership with CW+ for CW Innovation programme

The CW Innovation programme, which the Trust runs in partnership with our charity CW+, is celebrating its second anniversary.

Today, we are recognising the unprecedented acceleration in innovation at the Trust during the last two years and focusing on the importance of maintaining momentum - watch our short film to find out more.

The CW Innovation programme was launched in 2019 as a joint initiative between the Trust and our charity CW+ to formalise our growing portfolio of ‘test and scale’ innovation projects. During these past two years, CW Innovation has transformed patient care and the way we run our hospitals, fast-tracking new technologies and innovations that address the most urgent challenges faced by healthcare organisations today.

Catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have introduced a range of innovations into our day-to-day functioning that are fundamentally changing the way we care for, and interact with, our patients. Find out more about some of our CW Innovation projects.

CW Innovation has worked with over 120 innovative solutions and models of care that; harness digital healthcare, AI and machine learning to dramatically improve patient care; deliver patient-centred care in a location of their choosing and in a way that fits with their everyday lives; and create environments that promote wellbeing and foster healing by incorporating new technologies, architecture and design to transform the patient experience.  

Lesley Watts, Chief Executive at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, explains; “Today is not only about celebrating the achievements of the last two years of CW Innovation but, more importantly, it’s about looking forward to a future of ongoing transformation not just at our Trust but across the NHS.

“The success of CW Innovation is the result of a deliberate process. In addition to putting digital innovation front and centre at the Trust, our internal infrastructure, entrepreneurial culture and growing partnerships with external organisations have all provided solid foundations for us to be able to respond to the evolving needs of our patients and staff as we combat COVID-19. It’s from this firm base and proven-track record that we look forward to leading from the front in this new era of progress, challenge and change across the NHS.”

Chris Chaney, Chief Executive of CW+ says; “CW Innovation is a flagship programme supporting the Trust’s reputation as a leading national centre for research, innovation and discovery in the NHS. We are investing a further £500,000 supporting staff, infrastructure and projects this coming year with the aim of securing more than double this per annum from philanthropic partners to achieve our ambitions to deliver transformative, patient-centred, more responsive and cost-effective care across the NHS and beyond.”