The think-tank argues for a collaborative group of providers across a geography that agree priorities, pool budgets and resources, and share implementation support.

Pritesh Mistry, author of the research and fellow for digital technology at The King's Fund, says: ‘If national strategies are to translate into better care and economic growth, the NHS will need simpler routes to implementation, stronger collaboration, clearer investment mechanisms and sustained clinical and patient leadership. Above all, it will need to move from a culture of pilots to a culture of delivery.'

The report says innovation zones should be given 'permission' to become forerunners in developing and testing necessary changes to regulation needed for novel innovation. This could deliver benefits for patients in the UK and create more international opportunities for UK-based innovators.

It also says Integrated Health Organisation status should be conditional, in part, on capability to develop and implement novel innovations successfully.

Other recommendations include:

• prioritise a small number of innovations for rapid national scale (and be explicit about trade-offs)
• create and expand NHS venture funds to back innovations that measurably improve outcomes, safety and patient experience - and help scale what works across the NHS
• reward organisations that have the capability to adopt, evaluate and scale innovations - so more patients benefit, not just those in pilot sites
• stop ‘pilot purgatory': design tests around adoption and patient impact, with clear pathways to spread and standardise
• pool innovation budgets across local partners to tackle shared patient needs and population challenges - reducing unwarranted variation in access, outcomes and experience
• fund clinical, organisational and patient leadership so services co-design change and build demand for innovations that improve care.