INSIGHTS / News

Healthcare innovators in the West of England came together in Bristol yesterday to learn how to take their technology and business ideas to the next level.

The connection event, hosted by SETsquared and the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), provided 80 early stage innovators with an introduction to the techniques and processes of taking an innovative business idea to maturity in an NHS setting.

Innovators who attended heard talks on subjects including an entrepreneur’s guide to procurement in the NHS and what investors, users and founders really want from a start-up. A panel session, chaired by Dr Elizabeth Dymond, deputy director of enterprise and translation at West of England AHSN, looked specifically at the challenges of healthcare innovation.

Elizabeth said: “The connection event for healthcare innovators was oversubscribed and it shows the value people are placing on the need for innovation in the healthcare sector. It’s so important for each entrepreneur to be able to learn from the experts and understand how they can turn their ideas into reality and real patient benefit”.

Simon Bond, Innovation Director at SETsquared, said: “We’re very pleased that so many local healthcare innovators have access to the right knowledge and experience through our partnership with the West of England AHSN. It’s vital that these entrepreneurs develop the skills to produce high quality business plans to back up their bright ideas and how to take their products to market. The workshops and talks today have greatly helped them with this.”

Following the one-day event, SETsquared and the West of England AHSN have teamed up to provide a three-day healthcare innovation programme in April. Visit localhost/setsquared-live/healthcare-innovation-programme-register-your-interest to apply for a place on the programme. The deadline for applications is 9am on 9 February.

SETsquared joined forces with four Academic Health Science Networks in the South of England in November last year to set up the revolutionary new programme that could see more effective and better value healthcare technologies benefitting patients quicker than ever.