Sharing our learning across Wales, the UK and globally
The Bevan Commission, working in collaboration with health organisations are testing approaches for the adoption and spread of innovation. Building on our work over the last 5 years with the Bevan Exemplar Innovations, our cohort of innovators and adopters joined the Adopt and Spread (A&S) Programme in 2020. The programme is supported with funding by the Welsh Government.
The Bevan Commission has worked with the Welsh Government since November 2018 to develop a programme to test and develop a methodology to support innovation adoption and spread in Wales. We have experience of supporting Bevan Exemplars who are health and care professionals to take their innovation idea forward. The A&S Programme is a natural extension to support the Exemplars to take their successful innovations to other teams in Wales. As the A&S Programme is focussed on research as well as delivery, we are gathering the data and adding to the knowledge base about supporting successful adoption and spread. Working with Swansea University and our own research team, we are bringing together the learning as part of the live programme and will also be writing a report to be published later in 2021. Here is a short summary of how the projects and the people involved:
- 15 Exemplar projects are participating in the A&S Programme in Wales following an open call between August and December 2019.
- 46 Innovation Adoption sites started working in January 2020 to take on the work of the Exemplars to make a difference in their team and organisations. This expanded to 54 adoption sites by the end of the programme.
- Over 95 participating staff (innovators and adopters) are being supported by the Bevan Commission with bespoke training, development and networking sessions. They work in their project teams based across 9 health and care organisations (including all the seven Health Boards) in Wales.
- The project teams are being supported by Adopt and Spread Leads, coaches/mentors and partner organisations including Life Sciences Hub Wales, NHS Wales Finance Academy, Accelerate, AgorIP, NHS Wales Informatics Service, NHS Wales Finance Delivery Unit, and Swansea University.
Watch the introduction
Getting started
The national Adopt and Spread Programme took place between 2019 and 2021 funded by the Welsh Government with learning shared in Wales and beyond. Our approach was to test how Bevan Exemplars spread innovations to other settings with a cohort of Adopters. Read the introduction to find out what we aimed to do.
Working through Covid-19
The early findings show promising results with successful adoption within a few months and despite the challenges faced by many teams due to COVID-19. There were many changes to the plans originally made for the projects. The A&S Programme team worked closely with all the Exemplars and Adopters to keep pace where possible and support structured pauses and restarts to projects as well. Find out more with the Interim Report.
”“We are very pleased to have taken the lead through this national Adopt and Spread (A&S) programme. What we did is help find ways to ensure that successful, innovative ideas are adopted and spread across Wales… We set out to find what makes great ideas stick and spread… By sharing this evidence and learning we can influence and inform local and national adoption approaches for many years to come.”
Helen HowsonDirector, Bevan Commission
About the 15 Projects
Safeguarding peer support groups in primary care
For adoption in General Practice
Optimising the care of vulnerable adults and children in primary care through the development of multidisciplinary peer support groups.
Started as an Exemplar project and then went to the following Adoption Sites:
- Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Hywel Dda University Health Board
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (with 3 sites).
Six Steps education programme for supporting Palliative and End of Life Care
For adoption in Care Homes and Home Care Agencies
A successful approach focussed on early assessment and coordination of care, in care homes and those being cared for at home.
Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
Started as an Exemplar project in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
- Powys Teaching Health Board
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
STANCE: Learning self care for foot health
For adoption in specialist services and community settings
Diabetes foot health engagement and empowerment education in the community.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Hywel Dda University Health Board
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (across two sites, one of which is now paused)
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Providing palliative care for heart failure patients at home
For adoption in Specialist Services
Developing the Heart Failure Supportive Care Team for patients with advanced heart failure in the last 1 – 2 years of their lives.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Velindre University NHS Trust and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Hywel Dda University Health Board
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (new)
Managing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) using the low FODMAP diet
For adoption in places of work and for service users
Working with staff health and wellbeing programmes to introduce sessions for people diagnosed with IBS.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
- Narrative Microbiology Authorisation (Public Health Wales)
Engaging and encouraging behavioural change towards well-constructed clinical enquiries or justifications for test requests
For adoption by microbiology laboratory staff and healthcare professionals ordering tests
Started as a Bevan Exemplar in Public Health Wales with one team and new Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Public Health Wales (across 2 new sites)
Video conferencing for pulmonary rehabilitation support
For adoption in Specialist Services
Supporting individuals in rural communities participate in real-time in the rehabilitation session led from the hospital setting.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar Hywel Dda University Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (paused)
Be Here, Be Clear
For adoption by teams working within early years and with families accessing support for children
A preventative evidence-informed intervention to work with families reinforcing responsive interactions to support children to learn to talk.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Powys Teaching Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (3 sites, 2 of which are new)
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (new)
- Powys Teaching Health Board (new then paused)
Physiotherapy-led local serial casting service for children and young people
For adoption by paediatric and young people physiotherapy services
Localising the support for stretching and lengthening muscles as part of the paediatric physiotherapy services.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Powys Teaching Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (across 3 sites)
Dementia triage app (Cantab Mobile) in the community
For adoption in primary and community services
Using a digital solution to enable healthcare professionals to make accurate and timely referrals to diagnose dementia in primary care.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Swansea Bay University Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Swansea Bay University Health Board (across 3 sites, 2 of which now paused)
- Hywel Dda University Health Board (paused)
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (new then paused)
Using AI-enabled virtual assistants
For adoption in oncology and supporting services including Human Resources
Using chatbots to support information giving services in healthcare including frontline and administrative services.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Velindre University NHS Trust and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Velindre University NHS Trust (paused)
- Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Waiting in Pain? Access to Palliative Radiotherapy
For adoption by specialist teams
Developing a care pathway for quicker and easier for cancer patients to access radiotherapy treatment.
Started as a Bevan Exemplar at Velindre University NHS Trust and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
- Velindre University NHS Trust
- Swansea Bay University Health Board
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Trauma Ambulatory Care Unit
For adoption by Trauma and Orthopaedic alongside Emergency Departments
Transforming the model of care for ‘walking wounded’ patients requiring trauma and orthopaedic services.
Started as Bevan Exemplar at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and Adoption Sites recruited into the programme:
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (across 3 sites, 2 of which now paused)
The following projects did not complete the programme and did not take part in the showcase
S-CAMHS Practitioners and co-production
For adoption by mental health services working with children and young people
Formulation training for S-CAMHS Practitioners to develop a co-production model of problem identification between practitioners and the young person.
Started as an Exemplar Project with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, and then tested for adoption in:
- Swansea Bay University Health Board (paused)
- Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (paused)
- Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (paused)
This project was stopped due to COVID-19 and insufficient time and resources for testing.
QRInfopod in supporting access to self-management information in the community
For adoption by population-based and community-based services
Enabling service users and the public to use their smartphone and have instant access to the digital information.
Starting as an Exemplar innovation at Swansea Bay University Health Board and adoption sites recruited into the programme from:
- Public Health Wales
This project was stopped due to COVID-19 restricting access to the community sites where the innovation needed to be located.
