FOREWORD
In this our 20th year we celebrate Medilink across the North of England by uniting Medilink
Yorkshire and Humber, Medilink North West and Medilink North East. Leading figures from
the NHS, Academia and Industry provide this edition with their own regional perspective.
The views of our Foreword contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Medilink.
NEIL MUNDY - CHAIRMAN,
SOUTH TYNESIDE NHS
FOUNDATION TRUST, A FORMER
DIRECTOR OF THE REGIONAL
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Congratulations to
Medilink in its 20th
anniversary year, an
organisation I am
fortunate to have enjoyed
a long and productive relationship
with.
My key interests over that 20 year
period have been in Economic
Development, Innovation and most
importantly Healthcare. With the
RDA in the earlier part of that
period, I witnessed the benefits
of unlocking innovation within our
excellent companies, universities
and hospitals in the North East. The
success of the Centre for Process
Innovation demonstrates the strength
of harnessing those abilities and
the Medilink Team understand that
approach implicitly.
Healthcare over that 20 Years has
witnessed remarkable advances in
many areas. Orthopaedic Surgery has
improved the quality of life and future
wellbeing of so many people, through
total hip and knee replacements.
However even in this most successful
field, innovation in developing more
advanced implant materials remains
essential.
I have a particular interest in
Microsystems and Nanotechnology
and it is great to see innovative
applications in diagnostics such as
portable laboratories and hospital
level diagnostics in the home and in
implanted drug delivery, smart pills
and many others.
Innovation requires constant
collaboration by all sectors to
develop new high quality systems
and products to secure the best
outcomes and value for the NHS and
its patients. Medilink is well placed to
support and facilitate that important
goal and long may it continue.
2
PROF PAUL TOWNSEND
ASSOCIATE DEAN,
BUSINESS ENGAGEMENT,
UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
It gives me great
pleasure to provide a
foreword representing
the North West
region, in this the
20th anniversary of Medilink – an
organisation dedicated to innovation
and transforming healthcare.
The North West is a leading region
in life sciences and the University
of Manchester is a fundamental
part of this - with expertise in
biomedical sciences and translation,
with capabilities ranging from
fundamental biology research to
clinical medicine and healthcare
technologies. One of our five ‘beacon’
research themes is cancer, with one
of two major CRUK centres and a
partnership with Christie Hospital.
The University is also a key
contributor to the ‘Northern
Powerhouse’ bringing cohesion and
strength to the North of the country;
our President is a board member
of the Partnership. Through our
membership of the Northern Health
Science Alliance (NHSA) and N8
universities, we collaborate across
the region.
The Greater Manchester & Cheshire
East Science & Innovation Audit
highlights health innovation as a
key strength of the region. With
devolution of NHS budgets and its
integration with social care, the
University contributes significantly
to GM’s Health and Social Care
Partnership between local
government, universities, NHS and
business, already piloting with some
success new practices.
The University’s research and
knowledge exchange supports both
global and local business - large
and small and our IP and spin-out
companies create economic and
broader impact for society.
HANS C. HUX - GROUP CEO
& CHAIRMAN, B. BRAUN
In a fast moving and fast
changing world to be able
to celebrate 20 years in the
healthcare sector is a very
special anniversary event,
congratulations to Medilink.
This anniversary proves that every
success always starts with an
innovative concept and a good idea. It
could be said that this fact certainly
also applies to the development of
B. Braun, where an innovative idea
introduced 178 years ago allowed the
company to develop into a successful
healthcare organisation with global
representation.
At B. Braun our claim is “Sharing
Expertise”, a claim which we live and
foster on a daily basis with the aim
to develop, with our Healthcare and
Clinical Partners’ products, services
and solutions all targeted at improving
the health of people in the UK and
around the world.
The biggest challenge facing the
health service and its employees
is how to cope with the increasing
demand, driven by an ageing population
alongside increased availability of
new therapies through advanced
diagnostics and sophisticated
technology.
I believe the solution to this challenge
lies in a collaborative approach
between industry and the deliverers
of healthcare to ensure that people
receiving primary and secondary care
spend as little time in the hospital as
possible.
We are looking forward to a continuous,
close dialogue with the Medilink
organisations and with the wider
network of professionals and patients.
B. Braun is also committed to backing
future growth expectation with the
investment required to enhance
production capacity in key areas of
our business as despite Brexit, the
UK remains an important high end
healthcare market for B. Braun.