27/02/2013

Health Minister Supports Medical Innovation

The health minister has highlighted the importance of medical innovation during a visit to Armstrong Medical, Coleraine.

Armstrong Medical is a worldwide supplier of high quality, innovative respiratory disposable products for anaesthesia and critical care.

The company exports 90% of its turnover outside of Northern Ireland to 70 distributors in 52 different countries.

Speaking during the visit, the Minister said: "Armstrong Medical is an innovative and forward-thinking company which has expanded and excelled in supplying medical goods across the globe. It is this type of progressive thinking that I want to encourage in the entire health sector. We cannot stand still; we must find new and better ways to deliver care."

The Minister continued: "I am very proud that, in a short space of time, Northern Ireland has progressed quite a distance towards having an excellent research and innovation system for healthcare. The allocation of our regional Health and Social Care (HSC) Research and Development fund enables Trusts to develop research ideas and, through clinical trials and other studies, to generate evidence of the relative effectiveness of new medicines, diagnostics, medical devices or other treatments.

"Armstrong Medical has been a supplier of a wide range of essential equipment supplies and disposables to the HSC for a number of years. I am keen that the health service should work in partnership with the independent sector where this can benefit patients and I look forward to discussing today how local NI companies can better access HSC for trialling and delivering products."

The Minister met with Managing Director John Armstrong and invited guests from local Health Trusts and InvestNI to hear about the range of products on offer and cutting edge developments for delivery of services for anaesthesia and critical care.

(GK)

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