A GP from St Clears, Dr Will Macintosh was among the speakers at Hywel Dda University Health Board’s launch event for their new Research and Innovation Strategy.
The special event, which brought together leaders in local health care, academics and industry partners, took place at the new Canolfan Pentre Awel Centre in Llanelli on Thursday, October 16.
The ambitious Research and Innovation Strategy will drive forward the development of innovative medicines and treatments aimed at transforming the health and wellbeing of communities across the region over the next five years.
By implementing this strategy, Professor Leighton Phillips and his team will aim to give patients access to research and innovation in key areas such as cancer care, respiratory disease, women’s health, metabolic disease, primary care, digital health, and the social factors of health and well-being.
A major part of the strategy includes developing an infrastructure to support commercial trials.
Professor Leighton Phillips, Director of Research, Innovation and Value at Hywel Dda said:
“Our showcase event was a remarkable celebration of the progress and achievements that we’ve seen in our research and innovation work over recent years.
“A number of the speakers today spoke about how we in South West Wales, as a region, are punching above our weight in terms of research and innovation.
“ We also heard of some of the challenges we face in the region, so we need to be ambitious and courageous in our approach to finding innovative new ways to improve the health and wellbeing of our communities.”
The event heard from Professor Helen Munro, Consultant in Women’s Health at Hywel Dda and Welsh Government lead on Women’s Health; two local GPs, Dr Will Macintosh based in St Clears and Dr Anna Collenette based in Cardigan. They also heard from Professor Sue Denman about the importance of broadening the research base within our communities.
Professor Keir Lewis, a consultant at Hywel Dda, discussed opportunities for commercial respiratory research and Dr Dan Harris, a research pharmacist at Hywel Dda, spoke about advances in treating cardiovascular disease.
Mark Henwood, Medical Director at Hywel Dda said: “It was so inspiring to hear how research and development work being done by the Health Board is inspiring our clinicians and making a real difference to people living in our communities.
“It’s important for us to remember, that this research is not just an academic pursuit - it’s a way of driving better care and health, smarter systems and healthier communities and delivers real benefits.
“I would like to congratulate our Research and Innovation Team for all their hard work and am very excited to see what improvements and innovations they will be working on over the next five years and into the future.”
The team works closely with major pharmaceutical companies and the conference heard from representatives from companies including Astra Zeneca, Whyze Health and Jiva.AI.
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