Medical Technology Awareness Week 2018
Medical Technology Week 2018 took place from Monday 3rd December to Sunday 9th December.
The aim of the week is to get people talking about the importance of timely patient access to medical technology which improves patient outcomes and generates efficiency savings for the NHS.
Our popular Parliamentary reception was the centre point of the week. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, addressed this year’s reception, which brought together a large number of parliamentarians, patient users, patient groups, industry members, healthcare professionals, commissioners and representatives from the NHS and other Government departments.
This year, the highlight of the event was the unveiling of our new national campaign RationWatch.
Ration Watch
The core mission of the MTG is to ensure patients can access the lifesaving medical devices they need. The MTG believes patient access should governed by what you need, not where you are. However, inequitable access is becoming more and more of a challenge as NHS budgets are constrained. Despite clear guidance from NICE and NHS England, NHS organisations are increasingly restricting access to treatments that have been widely used previously. The full extent of this trend is not widely known.
To demonstrate the extent of the problem, the MTG has established RationWatch, an online resource which will showcase evidence of rationing of NHS treatments across England. RationWatch will highlight the impact of rationing and the damage it does to patients and the NHS. Through raising awareness of this issue, we hope to drive NHS leaders to do more to ensure patients do not face a postcode lottery in accessing lifesaving and enhancing medical technology.
This year’s reception took place on Tuesday, December 4th, and was hosted by Helen Whately MP.
A panel discussion, hosted by Philippa Whitford MP, also took place in Portcullis House. The panel looked at:
- Evidence of rationing of NHS treatments across England
- The impact of rationing and the impact it has on patients and the NHS
- How to drive change to ensure patients do not face a postcode lottery in accessing lifesaving medical technology
#medtechweek18
