Member Article

New network to support region's healthcare sector

A healthcare network has been launched to support the growth of the North East’s healthcare sector. The CELS Healthcare Network, which has the £1m backing of regional development agency One NorthEast, is already well on its way to signing up its 100th member. The launch of the network comes after a study by the Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (CELS) revealed the priority areas for support and growth in the region.

Mike Asher, CEO at CELS commented on the launch: “The Healthcare Network is a key part of CELS’ strategic plan to grow the region’s healthcare economy by £1bn by 2015. It complements other regional CELS initiatives such as InSTeP, the support programme for medical device design, and BioNEt, the bioscience research network. Together with our plans for new technology centres and bioscience business incubators, we are well on the way to achieving our ambitious targets for regional growth.”

The Healthcare Network team has developed an intensive programme of activities and events for members. This month, a delegation has been to Dusseldorf for Rehacare – the global trade fair for rehabilitation and assistive technologies products, and in November a second group travels to Dusseldorf for Medica, the world’s foremost exhibition for healthcare and medical technologies.

Membership of the CELS Healthcare Network is currently free of charge and all healthcare organisations in North East England looking to grow are invited to join. The Healthcare Network is also assisting organisations in other industry sectors wishing to diversify into healthcare and life science markets. For further information on the CELS Healthcare Network please contact Natasha Taylor on 0191 211 2626.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .