HTA’s Policy Manager Anna Parnanen attended the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this week. Sharing some of her thoughts on the various fringe events and speeches, she comments:
“Listening to the Health Secretary at fringes and the main stage, it was great to hear him tirelessly championing the role of innovation and tech in solving many of the NHS’s current challenges. Not only did he announce £30 million of new funding for health technologies, but also lobbied for more use of AI in releasing capacity to frontlines.
In addition to the use of AI in health, prevention featured heavily, with Lord Bethell championing early detection at various events on major conditions.
Lord Markham also described accelerated access to technologies as one of the key priorities for the Department of Health and Social Care. To this end, the Secretary of State did mention clearing the whole of the fifth floor of his Department and repopulating it with a team purely focused on bringing innovation and tech to patients.
All in all, it was motivating for the industry to hear Government and politicians champion the cause across Manchester, but I’m sure we are all now looking forward to the talk turning into action and we are excited to keep working with stakeholders to represent the HealthTech industry”.
Off to Liverpool and Labour Party Conference this weekend, where our Director of External Affairs Ellie Kearney and Founder Nick Lansman will be representing the health tech industry.