The director of the new Health Innovation Campus recently met the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to provide an update on progress on the new campus.

Dr Sherry Kothari, was asked to take part in a panel debate at the Northern Powerhouse Health Innovation Conference, where the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, was providing the keynote speech.

She then had the opportunity to speak to him about the bold and ambitious vision for health innovation at Lancaster, as well as update him on construction of the new £41m campus.

As well as a new home for colleagues and students from Lancaster Medical School and the Division of Health Research, the campus will provide a focal point where researchers, healthcare professionals, businesses, local authorities and policy-makers can work together towards a systems approach to improving health and wellbeing.

Dr Kothari said: “I was grateful to have the opportunity to meet the Secretary of State and share our vision for health innovation at Lancaster with him.

“Our aim is to challenge the status quo to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce health inequalities, thereby helping to fulfil NHS long-term plan objectives.

“As we continue to live longer, the preservation of good health and quality of life presents significant challenges to an increasingly ageing population. Health systems in the UK, and globally, are under enormous pressure, necessitating innovative approaches through various methodologies.

“Many of the issues which drive our work were reflected in the Secretary of State’s keynote speech and it was great to hear how committed he is to finding innovative solutions.”

The Northern Powerhouse Health Innovation Conference was aimed at businesses in the region who are involved in the health sector or looking for more information on opportunities in the area.

Mr Hancock told delegates: “The UK is one of the most productive places in the world for health and life sciences.

“We’re world leaders in pharmaceuticals, medical technologies and digital health, contributing more than £70bn a year to the UK economy and directly employing nearly a quarter of a million people.

“The Northern Powerhouse is such a big part of that success, with more medtech businesses than London, Oxford and Cambridge combined. A fifth of all the people working in the UK’s life sciences are based in the Northern Powerhouse. That’s more than 50,000 jobs.

“And with £1.6bn in investments planned over the next five years, the North is where some of the most dynamic growth and exciting innovation is going to happen.”

Dr Kothari added: “Lancaster is excited to be a part of this growth and innovation.”

For more information about health innovation at Lancaster, visit www.lancaster.ac.uk/health-innovation/ or email HIC@lancaster.ac.uk

Development of the new campus has been supported by Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Growth Deal funding, as well as the European Regional Development Fund.