Healthcare UK

Helping UK healthcare providers to do more business overseas by promoting the UK healthcare sector to overseas markets and supporting healthcare partnerships between the UK and overseas healthcare providers.

Healthcare UK is a joint initiative between:

Healthcare UK’s headquarters are in London. It works with DBT’s network of advisers located in more than 100 countries.

Responsibilities

Healthcare UK is responsible for:

  • helping overseas healthcare organisations find a UK healthcare provider that can supply the services and expertise they need
  • helping UK healthcare providers raise their international profile and win overseas contracts
  • encouraging UK healthcare providers to work together so they can bid for major overseas projects
  • working with governments to make it easier for UK healthcare providers to do business overseas
  • developing the UK public health sector’s ability to work internationally
  • supporting the UK’s government-to-government (G2G) agenda, providing expert advice and input to policy and strategy and specific G2G projects

Priorities

Healthcare UK’s export objectives aim to increase the UK’s share of exports in healthcare services.

These objectives include:

Identifying healthcare opportunities

Improving and sharing our in-depth market knowledge and experience of commercial opportunities for UK healthcare.

Engaging the UK healthcare sector in maximising export potential

Raising awareness of the vast range of exporting opportunities to suppliers and developing the capability of public sector healthcare organisations to respond to international demand for their expertise.

Promoting the UK healthcare sector internationally

Engaging potential buyers and influencers on UK capabilities overseas through campaigns and events.

Converting opportunities into export success

Connecting overseas decision-makers and buyers to UK organisations that can meet their needs, helping them to build lasting and fruitful partnerships.

Supporting NHS organisations and DHSC arm’s length bodies to grow their export activity

Developing their export capability, capacity and confidence and enabling collaborative working, helping them build their export activity and optimise benefits.

Joint responsibilities with DHSC and NHS

DHSC and NHS funding specifically enables DBT, through Healthcare UK, to provide English arms length bodies (ALBs) and NHS trusts targeted export capacity and capability building.

Specific responsibilities between the 3 departments include:

  • evaluation and agreement of the strategy and annual business plans for Healthcare UK
  • supporting the development of its strategic direction through identifying and reviewing target markets and considering whether Healthcare UK will be proactive or reactive in those markets
  • overseeing what Healthcare UK is signing up to in terms of National Health Service (NHS) provision
  • helping to protect NHS brand
  • advising on resource levels and expenditure
  • providing corporate governance and accountability, including ensuring Healthcare UK’s key performance indicators are managed appropriately and undertaking periodic reviews
  • assistance in identifying and advising on major issues of concern relating to trade in healthcare goods and services, which may require departmental / governmental intervention

Contact details

healthcare.uk@trade.gov.uk

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