New cross-border health partnership will support procurement of Irish MedTech SMEs in secondary care
Tuesday, January 24: Supported by InterTradeIreland’s Synergy initiative, the All-Island MedTech SMEs (AIMS) is being delivered by Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) and the Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI). AIMs brings together a wide group including SMEs, academics and healthcare procurement, to capture procurement barriers encountered by MedTech SMEs in the Northern Irish and Irish public healthcare systems (Health and Social Care (HSC) and Health Service Executive (HSE) respectively). By involving all stakeholders, AIMs will focus on developing a framework to support procurement and improve MedTech adoption in secondary care across both healthcare systems.
HIHI National Director Dr. Tanya Mulcahy said:
“We have been working with MedTech SMEs for nearly ten years in HIHI. The size and liquidity of companies means that smaller entities are often precluded from the procurement process. AIMS will look at how we can address barriers such as these so that indigenous MedTech can scale and grow and our health systems can choose from a wider pool of innovation.”
Ultimately, the All-Island MedTech SMEs (AIMS) is bringing together Irish SMEs and procurement to develop and propose a model for innovative procurement for all-island MedTech adoption in Irish health services North and South.
AIMS is funded by InterTradeIreland’s Synergy initiative. A cross-border cluster initiative set up by InterTradeIreland, the cross-border trade and business development body. It aims to scale cross border collaboration among SMEs and other players such as universities, third sector organisations and government agencies using cluster and networking supports.
HIRANI Programme Manager Dr Siobhán McGrath said:
“We are ambitious with AIMs because we know that there are solutions to ensure that Irish MedTech SMEs can thrive in the indigenous market. Through creating a network of health stakeholders North and South, capturing common challenges, sharing knowledge in relation to all-island supply chains and procurement channels, we can deliver this.”
ENDS
The Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI) is an alliance of universities, health organisations and other industry bodies, established to drive and support ambitious growth in Northern Ireland’s Life & Health Sciences sector. HIRANI is supported by partners including Invest NI, Public Health Agency, HSC Research & Development Office, the Department of Health (DOH) and Department for the Economy (DOE).
Funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) and the Department for the Economy (DFE) in Northern Ireland, InterTradeIreland has been helping small businesses in Ireland and Northern Ireland explore new cross-border markets, develop new products, processes and services and become investor ready for over two decades.
Based in Newry, services include supports for sales growth and innovation, plus funding and business insights for SMEs across the island who are looking to grow their business.
About Synergy:
Synergy is an InterTradeIreland pilot initiative to elevate the participation of SMEs in innovative networks of entrepreneurs, academics, policy makers, corporates and third sector participants. The aim of the process is to scale cross-border collaboration among SMEs and other players such as universities, third sector organisations and government agencies using cluster and network development supports which increase the reach and impact of programmes resulting in mutual economic benefit to both Ireland and Northern Ireland.