FAQS

Is this a government service?

Yes, it is. Healthcare UK is a joint initiative of the Department for International Trade, the Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS England & Improvement. We help UK healthcare providers to engage internationally, including promoting the UK healthcare sector to overseas markets and supporting partnerships between UK and non-UK healthcare organisations. We work with a wide range of organisations, including NHS Trusts, academic institutions, private sector companies and the Department of Health and Social Care Arm’s length bodies.

Why is this a paid for service? NHS and DH fund Healthcare UK; shouldn’t you be providing this for free?

This service is not for profit. The baseline funding we receive is used to develop materials and provide certain services/resources for free. However, it costs more to offer the best support and the best people to help the NHS achieve excellence in exporting. Charging for this service reflects the fact that we are a government organisation and need to cover costs in order to continue providing services to the NHS. Just as all money you generate through exporting is reinvested into the NHS to the benefit of UK patients, all money Healthcare UK generates through the Export Catalyst is reinvested to support more NHS organisations on their export journeys.

How much is it?

Costs vary, with some elements being provided pro-bono. However, we suggest that you should start with 2 elements:

    1. Become a member of the export catalyst which is free of charge and allows you to access resources such as:
      1. Case studies
      2. “How to” guides
      3. Training material
      4. Market intelligence (and the benefits such as knowledge sharing that come from being a part of our exporters community)
      5. ‘Export Readiness’ facilitated workshop, which we offer for £5500, and which provides a full review and plan of where you are and where you want to get to, with an associated road map. This is an excellent first step, which has been extremely well received by all those who have taken part.

Once we have a picture of where your organisation sits, and where it wants to get to, we will be able to provide a full range of support to you

Why are Healthcare UK qualified to deliver this?

Healthcare UK has been successfully working with NHS organisations to support them on their export journeys, and win business overseas, since 2013. In the past two years this has helped to generate export business worth over £100 million.

Who have you helped with this so far?

We piloted the Export Catalyst in 2018-19, working with 10 NHS trusts, all of whom provided positive feedback. One of these – Alder Hey – is currently working with us to support them in their export journey. As of August 2019, we are working with over 20 organisations on a wider range of Export Catalyst services. These include NECS, Cambridge University Hospital and Wigan Wrightington and Leigh.

No other organisation is like us, so how can you help with our very specific issues?

We have helped a variety of organisations, including Foundation/NHS Trusts, CSUs, ALBs and Primary Care providers. Our value to you comes in understanding your commercial and organisational challenges (which are often shared) and collaborating with you to share knowledge internally and test ideas. Our specialists have wide knowledge across sectors and markets and are experienced in developing the core elements of international commercial strategy, including value propositions, going to market, and stakeholder engagement. The export readiness diagnostic is an excellent first step for us to understand your individual challenges.

How would we be able to generate interest for this and spend money on training and consultancy through the Export Catalyst when there is no support to trade internationally from our board?

If you are not yet at a stage where your board is able to provide full support, we can come in to talk about the benefits of exporting and support you in gaining traction through well established methods. This typically starts with our mini-export readiness diagnostic and membership of the Export Catalyst. We are also able to meet with your board.

How much opportunity is out there?

Our external research found that there is a potential global market of £800m per year for the NHS.

Why is the NHS not doing this themselves?

We are funded by NHSE&I and DHSC to provide this support to the NHS, to ensure that NHS organisations can maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks appropriately, never impacting on delivery of domestic services. With our position across DIT (which offers direct access to markets), NHSE&I and DHSC, we are well positioned to offer practical support to NHS organisations looking to engage commercially overseas, from first steps to winning contracts. There are a number of NHS organisations already exporting successfully and we are facilitating the sharing of learning and expertise across the system, including through our new Exporters Forum.

Not found an answer? Use the form below and we will get back to you.

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Paid for service

Export Academy

Get ahead and transform your workforce with expert-led training. Upskill your team to help them break out of the NHS marketplace and take on an international forum.

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Export Consultancy

We have refined and developed our consultancy packages to challenge the thinking of our clients, delivering expert resource to help maximise on international opportunities.

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Market Map

Take advantage of our regional insight to help you secure business globally. If you’re interested in selling overseas then we can provide you with the knowledge to build a successful approach.

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We have built a valuable community to help share this insight and grow UK businesses abroad.

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Export Library

We provide support for companies of all size within our community. Browse our range of free templates and resources to help you on your export journey.

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Export Library

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