Call for Industry Leaders to Join ABHI Scotland
Scotland is home to a large and diverse HealthTech industry of over 250 companies, employing 9,000 people across devices, diagnostics and digitally enabled technologies. It has enjoyed a growth rate of 8% in recent years, which, partnered with a well established research community, demonstrates the country’s potential for our sector. NHS Scotland has distinct attributes that could enable the rapid diffusion of technologies and provide industry with opportunities for research based on real world data. Scotland also enjoys a world class university sector, a strong factor in the creation of innovation that has the potential to benefit patients around the world.
In early March, Mark Cook (ABHI Scotland Group Chair) and I, met with a number of senior system leaders, and we believe that with some clearly focussed ABHI activity, we will be able to enhance both local health and care systems and the opportunities for Scottish based innovators.
We will therefore be re-establishing ABHI Scotland at a virtual meeting in June. I would ask those of you for whom what we have outlined here is of interest, either as a local company, or one active in the Scottish market, to register their interest with Angela Jeffery by Friday 29th May 2020. A meeting invitation will follow.
Group Chair, Mark Cook, Director, Government Affairs, Medtronic UKI, provides further thoughts on this opportunity: "Scotland’s health system is fully devolved and hence different to NHS England in many critical ways. It has its own routes for adoption of change and innovation, which also creates an important and unique opportunity for companies doing business with Scotland. Post COVID-19 peak, the desire to return to elective work is creating an ideal opportunity to partner - I am excited that the Group will develop a programme of engagement with both the HealthTech sector, and the wider business environment, to accelerate technology adoption and show how the sector can work collaboratively for the benefit of Scottish patients."
ABHI Scotland will also have an important role to play in contributing to ABHI's ongoing work, both in the immediate response to COVID-19, and our longer-term engagement strategy:
"ABHI has long worked with National Procurement Scotland, and many of you heard Paul Hornby speak at our Procurement Conference last year on their approach to value based procurement; we are supporting Scotland with supply challenges during the COVID-19 crisis, and are developing ever deeper ties with them as a result."
Luella Trickett, Director, Value & Access, ABHI
"As we move to the restoration of planned care and seek to learn lessons from the COVID-19 crisis, the approach from NHS Scotland to address supply chain resilience and manufacturing capacity is welcome and we look forward to working with them even closer."
Andrew Davies, Digital Health Lead, ABHI
