Summary: MedTech Circularity Event

On 11 June the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Health (APHG) partnered with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Manufacturing and the APPG for Sustainable Resources to hold an evidence session to support their ongoing joint inquiry into sustainable healthcare. The session was co-organised with and sponsored by Loughborough University’s Centre for Sustainable Manufacturing and Recycling Technologies (SMART). 

The meeting was chaired by Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick and the speakers were: 

• Addie MacGregor, Sustainability Manager at the Association of British HealthTech Industries
• Daniel Vukelich, President & CEO at the Association of Medical Device Reprocessors
• Fiona Adshead, Chair of the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition 
• Professor Shahin Rahimifard, Founder and Director of the Centre for SMART at Loughborough University   
• Phil Sheppard, Research Associate at Loughborough University 

The meeting focused on Medical Technology (MedTech) circularity and the reuse, remanufacturing, and recycling of medical products and devices. In England in 2024/25 NHS clinical waste amounted to about 160,000 tonnes costing £95m to process as waste and £billions more to buy again. The aim of this evidence session was to deepen understanding of the critical path to a circular economy of medical devices, and whether the journey can be accelerated within the framework of the UK Government’s Design for Life Roadmap.  

Questions from the attendees highlighted concerns with the existing NHS annual budget cycle, difficulties with data sharing across teams, the heightened costs of circular systems and the varied approaches among NHS leaders as barriers to implementing a circular system for MedTech. It was also suggested that, for a circular economy to succeed, the NHS distribution model would need reform, and the cost-revenue system would need to reflect the higher upfront costs of reusable products.  

Speakers presented recommendations for success of the Design for Life Roadmap, such as coordinating the organisers under a single unified direction of reform, increasing investment in both the demand and supply side and establishing a National Innovation Incubator. This would be modelled on examples from Denmark and France and be analogous to the UK’s existing Catapult network as a means to accelerate innovations from development into NHS practice. 

The discussion also covered issues of medical device examination, logistical concerns with collection, issues with geographical scaling and coordination, the requirement from product-specific guidance, and other potential challenges which the NHS might face on its journey to a circular MedTech economy. The evidence gathered at this session is being used to inform Policy Connect’s forthcoming report on sustainable healthcare. 

If you would like to learn more about this work, please contact Robert Allen (Robert.allen@policyconnect.org.uk)