Health Innovation East Midlands (HIEM) visited leading healthcare manufacturer Urgo Medical, a leading East Midlands healthcare manufacturer, to see first hand how traditional British manufacturing and cutting-edge clinical innovation are working together to improve patient outcomes and deliver significant efficiencies across the NHS.

Chief Executive Nicole McGlennon and Commercial Manager Alison Mlot toured the company's manufacturing facilities, where medical hosiery continues to be produced in the UK using specialist expertise developed over decades.

Alongside its medical hosiery manufacturing, Urgo Medical benefits from the expertise of its parent company, URGO Group, an internationally recognised leader in advanced wound care. Through continued investment in research and development, the company has developed technologies designed to accelerate healing, reduce complications and improve outcomes for patients with hard-to-heal wounds.

Discussions during the visit focused on Urgo's advanced wound care portfolio, including UrgoStart Plus, a NICE-approved treatment for venous leg ulcers (VLUs), and UrgoKTwo, an evidence-based compression bandaging system. These technologies are supporting healthcare providers to improve healing rates, reduce nursing visits and lower treatment costs, while helping to redesign wound care pathways across the East Midlands.

 The visit also explored how HIEM can continue to support collaboration between innovators, healthcare providers and industry partners to accelerate the adoption of evidence-based technologies that improve patient care and deliver better value for the NHS. Through its partnership with Urgo, the Tissue Viability Service at Northamptonshire ICB (now clustered with Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB) has successfully transformed wound care through the implementation of an evidence-based pathway, improving patient healing outcomes while delivering significant cost savings and operational efficiencies, including reduced antimicrobial spend, lower use of superabsorbent, and decreased nursing time.

Nicole McGlennon, Chief Executive at Health Innovation East Midlands, said: "It is inspiring to see a company that continues to proudly manufacture in the UK while also being part of a global organisation at the forefront of healthcare innovation. The combination of traditional expertise in medical hosiery and pioneering advances in wound care demonstrates the strength of the East Midlands' life sciences and healthcare sector. Technologies such as UrgoStart Plus and UrgoKTwo are helping to transform wound care pathways, enabling faster healing for patients while supporting more efficient use of NHS resources. This is exactly the type of innovation that can make a meaningful difference to both patient outcomes and healthcare sustainability."

The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss workforce development, manufacturing excellence and how collaboration can help ensure proven innovations reach frontline services more quickly.

Ben Harrison, Health Innovation and Access Manager at Urgo Medical, said: "We are proud of our heritage in the East Midlands and our continued commitment to UK manufacturing. Through our connection with URGO Group, we are able to bring evidence-based wound care innovations to healthcare systems across the UK. It was a pleasure to welcome Health

Innovation East Midlands and discuss how collaboration can help more patients benefit from these technologies while supporting healthcare providers to deliver high-quality care."

The visit reflects Health Innovation East Midlands' commitment to working with industry partners to accelerate the adoption of proven innovations that improve patient care, support NHS productivity and strengthen the region's life sciences sector.