Working internationally
The Yorkshire & Humber AHSN leads on international activity on behalf of the AHSN Network and we have a successful track record of helping overseas innovators import their products into the NHS , as well as supporting UK companies to export to foreign healthcare markets .
This year we have delivered a series of highly successful events where we have provided support to 150 SMEs from Norway , the Middle East , USA , Taiwan , Ireland , Sweden , Finland , Iceland , Lithuania , and Israel . We are keen to bring the best health innovations from around the world into the UK to meet the needs of our population . And where possible , we want the Yorkshire and Humber region to be the first to use these innovations . This year , we have taken a step further . Through our partnership with the Department for International Trade ( DIT ) we delivered our first international bootcamp . Building on the success of our national Propel @ YH accelerator programme , we provided a one-week bootcamp to five USbased SMEs to help them land their innovative products in our home market . You can read more about our Propel @ YH Boot Camp on page 34 .
Our long-standing partnership with the ABHI also enables us to collaborate to drive the export agenda of our UK based healthtech SMEs . We have helped recruit and support UK innovators onto the ABHI US accelerator programme as well as on to other trade missions including international trade shows like Arab Health , where we represented the AHSN Network at the 2022 event in January .
Overall last year we supported over 40 UK health tech innovators to reach out to new international markets , helping them to forge new international partnerships , seek investment and increase sales and business growth .
We also work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the DIT on initiatives such as the Better Health Programme – a project that seeks to tackle non-communicable diseases like heart disease and strengthen
local health care systems to improve quality of care .
This gives us the opportunity to support other countries to develop their own healthcare systems by sharing knowledge and expertise from the UK to help drive innovation and improve patient outcomes globally . For example , last year we worked with the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand to identify UK-based digital innovations in mental health that could be implemented to address the needs of their population .
See what happened at the Bridging the Gap event that we hosted on behalf of the AHSN Network in March 2022
46 Transforming Lives Through Innovation