Blog

Programme Manager Neil Toner’s blog series on working in an international market continues. This month Neil talks about the recent event organised with Norway Health Tech.

Following on from the event in January with Norway Health Tech where we introduced Norwegian SMEs to the UK healthcare system this time we swapped it around. We took some brilliant SMEs from our region and beyond to share their solutions with an expert panel from Norway and to get an introduction to the Norwegian healthcare system.

These events form part of the International Programme where we are collaborating with Norway Health Tech on a series of events during 2021.

Norway Health Tech share a very similar philosophy as the AHSNs, with their mission to improve quality in treatment and care by developing and scaling world class health solutions through its members and eco-system.

This second virtual event took place on 4^th February and followed a similar format to our first session. I provided an introduction to the UK SMEs and then we had the opportunity to learn about the Norwegian healthcare system from the expert panel of speakers.

First up was the excellent Gloria Traina, from the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services.  Gloria provided the background to Norway itself and a brilliant insight into the Norwegian healthcare system, its challenges and its strategy for the future.

Gloria was followed by Norway Health Tech’s very own Bent-Håkon Lauritzen who provided a comprehensive overview of the Norwegian procurement system which enabled the SMEs to better understand the challenges they will face with gaining traction in Norway.

The last of the panel was a presentation from Terje Gårdsmoen from Oslo University Hospital who helped the audience better understand the approach Norway have for building new hospitals and his thoughts on what digital innovation they are exploring.

Part of my input into the event was the difficult process of shortlisting the SMEs who both fit the hospital focused brief and who are ready and willing for international development. What makes it even harder is that we are blessed in the UK with an abundance of health tech companies and in our region alone we have over 650 life sciences companies.

But I think I managed to shortlist a great range of health innovations, even if I do say so myself! But before I take all the credit, I really must thank Marte Olson at DIT in Oslo who was invaluable in helping me finalise the shortlist.

The UK SMEs who presented did a brilliant job showcasing their offerings with a great mix of solutions and services covering all aspects of healthcare and technology. They included:

• PinPoint – AI decision support tool for prioritising patients suspected of having cancer.
• Oxehealth – Monitoring of vulnerable patients.
• Inivos – Infection prevention and control
• Templar Executives – Cyber Security.
• In Touch with Health – Patient flow solution.
• Transforming Systems – Real-time operational management platform.
• MediShout – Transforms hospital buildings into digitally-smart environments, so staff can deliver best patient care.

Following their presentations, the SMEs had some great discussions with the panel and immediate suggests of how their products could meet unmet needs in the Norwegian system.

The event was a big success, hearing from some really varied set of solutions that could support all areas of secondary care. We have received some excellent feedback from the Norwegian panel and we are discussing the next steps with Norway Health Tech and Oslo University Hospital who are very keen to discuss further collaboration.

Following the success of our first two events and great feedback I am now working on the development of further events based around specific themes. What is key to the success of the programme is that we are showcasing innovations that can truly support unmet need and delivering something tangible.