£3.5m project to boost SME healthcare innovation across Liverpool City Region

Businesses across the Liverpool City Region could benefit from a multi-million pound project aimed at helping small- and medium-sized enterprises develop innovative products and services for the healthcare sector.

Called Health Enterprise Hub – Innovation Exchange, the £3.5m project is funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and will run for three years.

The Innovation Exchange forms part of the city region’s Local Growth Hub and will give SMEs access to healthcare professionals, universities and relevant businesses, helping them bring their innovation to market by connecting them with expertise.

The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) sector manager for life sciences and health, Dr Andrew Rose, said: “Liverpool City Region is particularly strong in health and life science and we are positioning ourselves as the best place in the UK for healthcare innovation.

“To ensure we capitalise on this we need to provide support, guidance, opportunity and time for businesses to develop in this growing sector.”

He added: “The Innovation Exchange Programme will, though our Local Growth Hub, offer companies and entrepreneurs the sector-specific support they need.”

The LEP also plans to host events, meetings and focus groups, bringing together the needs of various healthcare stakeholders for SMEs to create new solutions and scale-up their ideas.

NHS Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Group’s senior manager for digital care and innovation, Dave Horsfield, commented: “It is fantastic to have both the city region NHS and universities partnering with industry.

“It means that our local health services and practitioners will be co-creating innovative products and services - which ultimately benefits both businesses and citizens.”

He added: “Opening doors for local businesses will bring huge benefits to our health and care sector which has a rich tradition of innovation.”