Growth plan launched for West Midlands healthcare sector

THE recent Health and Wealth Economic Summit at the NEC in Birmingham saw the launch of a seven point growth plan for the region.

It is widely believed that healthcare will be a key driver in wealth creation and economic growth in the region and the plan is intended to be a catalyst to make that happen.

Developed by the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN), the growth plan addresses the direct and indirect links between health and wealth and sets out the WMAHSN’s commitment to work to ensure that the region is viewed as a centre of healthcare excellence, to attract investment, a highly skilled workforce, research funding and to cluster innovative businesses.

WMAHSN’s commercial director Tony Davis said: “By bringing together the public and private sectors at the economic summit, we have been able to demonstrate how the growth plan can work to make a positive impact on the local economy.

“We’ve talked about the role of the NHS as an intelligent customer, and delegates learned about the investment and innovation opportunities in the region.

“We also heard from companies that are using innovation to increase productivity.

“The growth plan sets out how we will develop these to ensure that the region benefits, not just in terms of improved healthcare, but economically too.”