Health & Wellbeing Community Meetup - 23rd February
Following Conduit Connect’s most recent Health & Wellbeing community meetup, Aahuti Rai, Conduit Connect Health & Wellbeing Community Champion and Conduit Impact EIS Fund advisor, shares her thoughts on the importance of collective action in order to scale health innovations.
By Aahuti Rai
Last month, the Conduit Connect hosted another Health & Wellbeing Community meetup led by Aahuti Rai, Investor and Advisor to the Conduit EIS Impact Fund, and various healthtech ventures. This gathering was a continuation from Conduit Connect’s Mental Healthcare Breakfast event held in November, which had resulted in a call-to-action for the many who had attended to continue their conversation and collaboration for the betterment of access and treatment options for mental health in the UK. Recent statistics, research and headlines continue to warn us of the increasing need for mental health and wellbeing support. Whilst instances of poor mental health continue to rise, leading to an increased demand in the services, constraints in service provision remain a challenge; thus, resulting in a deficit for those who need support. Prevention is barely on the agenda - the current model of care simply cannot cope with demand.
The convening group represented different stakeholders from the healthcare ecosystem. Their aligned mission is to resolve the many challenges that prevent accessible and effective mental health interventions in the UK. The energy in the room was high and important connections were made, as the group discussed and surfaced their specific challenges.
Mental Health is a common denominator across most physical health conditions. As chronic diseases continue to rise, so will the pressure on mental health services. The physical-mental health chasm must be crossed, and we need to evolve the current models of care to include different interventions and digitally enabled therapies. Despite a minefield of innovation, the existing healthcare system and associated pathways remain difficult to penetrate. The reasons for this are many and the group's discussion uncovered several of the hurdles; however, as one member of our community put it: "we are trying to change a 'system' and this means thinking about the component parts of the system and ensuring that each makes the necessary changes." Conclusively, solving these challenges will require all stakeholders to be present in the same conversation if we are to succeed. Extending the metaphor a little further, this is not just about a 'software update'; the underlying hardware needs to change.
In the UK, we have a universal healthcare system offering free of charge care at the point of access. Nevertheless, many innovators are forced to offer their intervention via private health care and self-pay routes. This is because SMEs and startups often don't have the capacity, runway and resources to navigate the complex maze of regulation, procurement frameworks, reimbursement uncertainties and drawn out sales cycles that are associated with the NHS system. There is risk that despondency will settle in as the challenges can often feel insurmountable; also, as frustration with policy makers, the government and healthcare leaders heightens.
Having said this, the community meetup generated a sense of healthy activism and action with the many that gathered; agreeing to invite representation from other stakeholder groups to the community, such that bridges across the ecosystem can be built. The Health & Wellbeing Community has developed a balanced intention of being a collective voice to influence health policy, but with the pragmatism of helping each other to solve more immediate and specific issues in making health innovations accessible and scalable.
As Tolstoy has taught us (paraphrased!).... change happens, not through top down mandates and policy changes, but through the infinite number of infinitely small actions taken by everyday people - this is what creates the ground-swell of pressure to drive large scale change.
This teaching encapsulates the spirit of the Conduit Connect’s Health & Wellbeing Community . We look forward to our next meetup on 18th May during Mental Health Week.
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Conduit Connect currently has the following Health & Wellbeing direct investment opportunities live in its impact investment portfolio:
· Bea Fertility: is the first clinical grade, at-home ICI fertility treatment; putting control into the hands of those starting families and making safe, effective fertility care accessible to those who need it most. Raising £1m, EIS eligible.
· ScubaTX: a breakthrough tech-enabled organ preservation company, which has developed a fully automated, low-cost, organ transplant technology device. Raising £1.5m, EIS eligible.
· mOm Incubators: MedTech start-up creating cost-effective, compact, and lightweight infant incubator offering a safe, medical-grade thermoregulated environment for newborns to thrive in.Raising £4m, EIS eligible.
If you would like to learn more about any of these opportunities, please contact Susannah Preston, Investor Relations Manager at susannah@theconduitconnect.com