Meet the Support Organisation: Health Technology Wales

The NHS Innovation Service brings together 12 world-class expert support organisations, working in partnership to help innovators navigate the health and care system, speeding up access to support.

In our Meet the Support Organisation series, we’ll meet the people and teams who are part of the service, helping to turn great ideas into real-world impact.

Each profile introduces one of our partner organisations - exploring who they are, how they support innovation, and their advice for anyone looking to make a difference through the NHS.

HTW's work supports decision makers in health and social care to make evidence-informed decisions on technology investments.

HTW also supports technology innovation and development in Welsh health and social care by acting as an initial contact point for technology developers. So, it made sense for HTW to join the NHS Innovation Service, as it acts as a 'front door' service for the whole of the UK health and care sector.

3. How do you/your organisation help innovators navigate the NHS and bring their ideas to life?

Here at HTW we work with innovators who are at the later stages of technology deployment. Innovations supported by us are usually market ready, and the innovators are looking to scale up their use in the NHS. Our job is to look independently at the evidence on how effective the new innovation is and whether it offers value for money. In the first instance we do this by producing a topic exploration report, which is a high-level gap analysis of the existing evidence. Innovators have told us they find these reports helpful in clarifying the evidence they need to generate to prove their value to the NHS. Some innovations will then be chosen to have evidence based guidance produced, which tells decision makers in Wales if the innovation is clinically and cost effective.

All our reports are published and can be found on the Report and Guidance section of our website. Innovators are sent our reports and given the opportunity to comment on them before publication.

4. Can you share an example of a successful innovation you’ve supported via the NHS Innovation Service?

Floseal is a bioresorbable topical haemostatic agent which can be used in the treatment of epistaxis (nosebleeds) if first aid treatments do not work. The innovator who produces Floseal was signposted to us in 2023. Following the process described above, we produced a topic exploration report on Floseal. From this, and discussion with the innovator, we concluded there was value in producing guidance for Wales on this product. Our guidance recommendations were published in 2024 and can be found on our guidance page for Floseal along with our supporting reports on its clinical and cost effectiveness.

5. What’s your one piece of advice for innovators looking to work with the NHS?

Register your innovation on the NHS Innovation Service, but do not think of this as a one-off process. As your innovation develops, you can update your record on the platform. Different organisations can support you at different stages, Ensuring that there is an up-to-date record of your innovation's development will help organisations know the right time to support you.