At Augmented Healthcare, we talk a lot about clinical consultation understanding, AI safety, and the technology we're building. What we haven't shared much about is the support system that helped us get here.
This post is a thank you, and an acknowledgment that healthcare innovation doesn't happen in isolation.
Where It Started
My journey with GM Business Growth Hub actually began before Augmented Healthcare existed. In 2024, soon after fully qualifying as a GP, I was running a previous venture called Augmented Consulting (shows how original I am!), exploring how we could support patients manage and monitor their conditions with a user friendly mobile app - DiaryDoc. That's when I first met Dr Yousef Taktak, Innovation Specialist for Health and Life Sciences at the Hub.
Medical school teaches you a lot of things. Business strategy is not one of them.
Yousef changed that. With his PhD, MBA, and years of experience helping healthcare companies navigate everything from NHS market access to investor pitches, he helped me develop skills I didn't know I was missing. How to articulate a value proposition. How to think about market timing. How to translate clinical intuition into something that makes sense to people who've never worked a ten-minute consultation.
When Augmented Healthcare formally launched in March 2025, Yousef was already there... and so was the broader Growth Hub network.
The Support We've Received
Through the Hub, we've secured a £19,100 grant funding award. Funding that's helped us build our core technology infrastructure whilst keeping patient safety at the centre of everything we do.
But the financial support is only part of the story. The real value has been the mentorship, the connections, and the strategic guidance.
The Hub team understand Greater Manchester's innovation ecosystem deeply, including:
- academic institutions,
- NHS trusts,
- regulatory pathways,
- and so much more.
They helped us see opportunities we would have missed on our own.
Representing Greater Manchester Internationally
One of the most valuable aspects of working with the Hub has been access to Greater Manchester's growing international presence. In the past year, we've been fortunate to participate in two significant initiatives.
Greater Manchester–Germany Innovation Summit (September 2025)
On 24–25th September, Greater Manchester and the Ruhr region came together at the Royal Exchange Theatre for the first Innovation Summit. Two days exploring hydrogen, digital health, and cyber security.
I was given something that terrified me: a five-minute pitch slot. No slides. Just me, explaining clinical consultation understanding infrastructure to a room full of German and British innovators and academics, followed by Q&A.
I'm so glad I stepped out of my comfort zone.
The concept genuinely resonated. German healthcare faces many of the same pressures we see in the NHS: workforce constraints, quality assurance challenges, the need for AI that augments rather than replaces clinical judgement. The questions weren't sceptical, they were curious.
One topic that came up repeatedly was bias: how do you ensure AI systems don't perpetuate or amplify existing inequities in healthcare? It's something we're thinking about deeply. Our training lead Joel will be writing a dedicated post on how we're approaching bias mitigation. It deserves proper attention, not a paragraph.
Ireland Trade Mission (November 2025)
We were selected as one of eleven Greater Manchester life sciences companies to join a mayoral trade mission to Ireland, led by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram.
Honestly, it was an honour just to be in the room. Sitting alongside companies far further along in their development, established diagnostics firms, proven healthtech innovators, reminded me how early we still are in our journey. But it also showed us where this path can lead.
Meeting Andy Burnham was a highlight. His genuine interest in supporting innovation across Greater Manchester businesses is evident. It's no coincidence this is the fastest-growing economy in the UK. The roundtable discussions were fantastic, and it was great to catch up with Cllr Bev Craig to explore how we might support fellow clinical innovators across Greater Manchester and the North West.
That's a conversation we're keen to continue.
What This Means for Our Mission
These experiences have reinforced something we believed from the start: healthcare innovation works best when it's connected. Connected to clinical practice, to academic research, to regulatory expertise, and to international perspectives.
We're building consultation understanding infrastructure for UK healthcare first. But the conversations at both events suggest the need (and the opportunity!) extends far beyond these borders.
Looking Ahead
We're grateful for what the Hub has helped us achieve so far. And we're excited about what comes next.
If you're a Greater Manchester healthcare or life sciences company looking for support, I'd genuinely encourage you to reach out to the Business Growth Hub. They understand this sector, and they understand this region. More importantly, they'll push you to grow in ways you didn't expect... But beware, that may include standing up in front of a room full of sector leaders and explaining why what you're building matters!
Contact GM Business Growth Hub
website: www.businessgrowthhub.com
tel: 0161 3593050
email: bgh@growthco.uk
