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City partners are taking Leeds’ international reputation for health research and innovation to the next level, with the launch of Health Innovation Leeds this month.

Health Innovation Leeds is a new approach by the city’s health and care research and innovation partners.  Under its banner, the city will collectively showcase its world-leading developments and help people navigate its market-leading offer.

In doing so, city partners aim to secure greater influence and investments by building on its international reputation as a competitive health innovation hub.

Located at the heart of the UK’s Northern Powerhouse, Leeds is already known as the ‘economic capital’ of West Yorkshire. It is the UK’s third largest city, economically the fastest growing and the top-performing for business scale-ups.

It is regional headquarters to numerous national health and care-related organisations – primarily the world’s largest single healthcare system, the NHS. This enables closer collaborations between local and national partners, as demonstrated through the Leeds Health and Social Care Hub.

The city’s dynamic, new Innovation Arc represents one of the largest regeneration schemes in the north of England. It is creating a city centre science park, formed around the city’s leading universities, one of the most research and innovation-active NHS teaching hospitals trusts, and major private sector partners.

Within the Innovation Arc, the forthcoming state-of-the-art new adults’ maternity/women’s and children’s hospitals are set to transform healthcare for the region as part of a new Innovation Village, already showing positive impact through its Innovation Pop Up. The Innovation Village is forecast to bring economic benefits of £13 billion for the city and region and create 4,000 jobs.

Leeds is at the heart of West Yorkshire’s health, life sciences and digital technologies sector. As such, it will capitalise on the recently announced £160 million boost as one of the Government’s new UK Investment Zones, accelerating the city’s infrastructure plans.

Leading the Health Innovation Leeds launch is Leeds Academic Health Partnership (LAHP). LAHP is one of the biggest partnerships of its kind in the UK and the only one in Yorkshire and Humber. Its wide-ranging membership comprises the NHS, universities, the City Council, charities and regional partners in health, care, business and skills.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Chief Executive Officer and LAHP Chair elect Professor Phil Wood said: “Leeds is renowned for breaking new ground in demonstrating world-leading health innovation. Its strong track record includes the National Pathology Imaging Collaborative, world firsts in interventional radiology and a UK first in hand transplantation.

“We are working more closely together as a city in our focus on local people’s greatest health needs. And, with this focus, we are expanding our portfolio of research and strengthening our engagement with industry innovators, both locally and globally. As a result, Leeds is repeatedly leading the field in discovering and adopting transformative new approaches in health and care.

“Health Innovation Leeds will help bring all this together in a compelling offer to national and international audiences and cement our city’s position as the first-choice location for the sector. “

Leeds Academic Health Partnership brings together members’ expertise to help solve some of the city’s hardest health challenges.

Kate Lodge, Partnership Director at Leeds Academic Health Partnership, said: “The launch of Health Innovation Leeds could not come at a better time as the city is now at the forefront of healthcare innovation, including strengths in healthtech, digital, data and artificial intelligence.

“Working closely with all our partners, we want to ensure that more people benefit from the great work in our city, such as translating research into practice and enabling innovators to develop their products.  Health Innovation Leeds will help us spotlight these strengths and provide a gateway to our unique health research and innovation ecosystem.”

For more information, visit www.healthinnovationleeds.com from 17 January 2024, where you can also watch a video introducing the city’s health innovation excellence. You will also be able to follow Health Innovation Leeds on LinkedIn and X.

Leeds Academic Health Partnership represents the leading organisations and activities that comprise and support Health Innovation Leeds. Partners include

• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
• Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust
• Leeds Health and Care Partnership
• Leeds City Council
• University of Leeds
• Leeds Beckett University
• Leeds Trinity University
• Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber
• St Gemma’s Hospice
• Leeds City College
• Yorkshire Cancer Research
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority
• West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership.