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We were proud to once again be part of the Yorkshire Post Life Sciences Business breakfast, an opportunity to bring together a vibrant community of innovators, industry leaders, researchers and government representatives from across our region.

It was fantastic to hear from all the panellists on how our region is shaping the future of this sector with a strong focus on innovation, NHS transformation, skills and sustainable growth.

Some takeaways for innovators stood out:

• Build accessible ecosystems that support SMEs to thrive.
• Collaboration across universities, government, industry and the NHS is fundamental to attract investment, create jobs, and retain talent.
• Population health, tackling health inequalities, and children’s health remain NHS priorities.
• Ensure the UK offers a platform for multinationals that spans the full R&D lifecycle.

One of the key messages was the importance of understanding the challenges faced by our health system. An innovator has to fall in love with the problem first – really empathise with it so they develop something that works. First, identify the problem and consider its impact on patients, their families and frontline staff, then describe what a positive outcome should look like, and only after that present your solution. From the outset, work with the patients and clinicians who will ultimately use and benefit from your idea.

If innovators want to see faster adoption of their solutions in the NHS, they need to understand system priorities and challenges and align their work to meet future needs. Health innovation organisations such as Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber – and particularly our accelerator programme, Propel Healthtech – play a vital role in making this happen.

Propel Healthtech has recently been allocated £4.5m in funding from the West Yorkshire Mayor’s investment Zone. The funding is part of the region’s £160m Investment Zone to support the growth of the health innovation and technology sector.

The funding granted to Propel Healthtech will enable the accelerator to expand and support more innovators. Over the next four years the scheme will support up to 240 businesses helping them to scale in the NHS, contribute to create new jobs, increase regional economic growth and develop life-changing innovations for patients.

Since its inception in 2019, the programme has supported 125 innovators, contributed to the creation of 143 jobs, brought £940k directly into the local economy, and helped its innovators to raise a total of £37.4m in funding. Now, with a further injection of funding, it will provide even more targeted business support and masterclasses for innovators to help navigate the complexity of our health and care system.

This is a significant opportunity to attract more companies with cutting-edge solutions, strengthen Yorkshire’s healthtech and life sciences sector, ultimately improving patient care while driving regional prosperity.

This opinion piece was first published in the Yorkshire Post on 25 September.