Doctorpreneurs
Many bright inventions come out of the NHS. Too few are exploited
THE National Health Service (NHS) faces a funding crisis: already short of money, it said it will find £22 billion ($35 billion) in efficiency savings by 2020. But as emergency services creak and politicians shudder at the thought of closing more hospitals, within the system lies an untapped source of wealth.
The government first came up with the idea of making money from NHS employees’ inventions in 2002. More than a million people, it realised, were spending their days thinking about better ways to treat people. Innovation might save money, and hospitals could help their staff sell their ideas in exchange for a share in the profits. To make the plan work, the government allowed hospital trusts to buy shares in companies set up to develop an invention.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "Doctorpreneurs"
From the July 4th 2015 edition
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