VALE of Clwyd MP James Davies has given his backing to a national campaign calling for the appointment of chief innovation officers across all NHS organisations.

Led by the UK’s leading HealthTech trade association, the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), the campaign was launched at ABHI’s annual parliamentary reception last month.

The event provided ABHI’s members, parliamentarians and stakeholders with an opportunity to celebrate the role HealthTech plays in improving lives and supporting the NHS.

Dr Davies, who has worked as a doctor within the NHS for 16 years, said: "Innovation is currently nobody’s job, and until it is actively built into senior job descriptions, it will remain an afterthought. The HealthTech industry can bring tremendous value, both to patients in improved outcomes, and to the NHS, through efficiency gains.

"This agenda must be encouraged at board level, especially in an organisation such as Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB), which continues to struggle in its provision of services."

A chief innovation officer is a person in a company who is primarily responsible for managing the process of innovation and change management in an organisation.

Dr Davies's call for a new chief innovation officers at BCUHB comes in the wake of the departure of Gary Doherty, chief executive of the health board.

Mr Doherty will leave his post this month to take up the role of director of integration at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Simon Dean, deputy chief executive of NHS Wales, will cover the chief executive post on an interim basis.

A total of 16 MPs have given their backing to the national campaign to appoint chief innovation officers.

Matt Hancock, secretary of state for Health and Social Care, said: “Adoption is one of the biggest challenges in the NHS and we need to spread innovation quicker.

"This can no longer be someone else's job."