Digital Health unveils draft programme for Rewired25

Digital Health has unveiled the draft programme for its Rewired 2025 event which will take place at the NEC in Birmingham in March next year. 

With a new government, new policy direction and significant new investment, making more effective use of digital and data to improve productivity, patient safety and high quality care will underpin the government’s 10 year health plan.   

The Digital Health Rewired 2025 draft programme showcases the most important national programmes and local initiatives underway to accelerate the shift from analogue to digital health. 

Jon Hoeksma, chief executive of Digital Health, said: “Rewired25 comes at a critical moment for NHS renewal.

“Lord Darzi’s review of the NHS in England identified accelerating digitisation of the NHS as crucial to improve productivity and quality of care. This will underpin efforts empower patients to take control of their health and shift services out of hospitals. 

“Politicians are right to identify the need to accelerate and spread digitisation. Fortunately, there are myriad examples of how that is already being done in almost every part of the NHS.   

“The Rewired25 conference programme and exhibition will showcase and share the widest range of fantastic and inspiring initiatives already underway through case studies, best practice and deep dive sessions.”

Delivered across nine stages, the Rewired25 programme will bring together an inspiring mix of national policy, researchers, thought leaders, NHS board executives, plus a broad range of local digital leaders and teams to explore the latest developments in digital health and care.

It will also feature keynote sessions mixing the best national and industry leaders with headline sponsors The Access Group and Microsoft.  

Digital Transformation, sponsored by Microsoft includes:  

• • Dr Jess Morley, researcher and self-proclaimed ‘health data nerd’, Digital Ethics Centre, Yale, will challenge assumptions on AI in health;  

• • Prof Joe Harrison, national director, NHS Digital Channels, will chart the future of the NHS App; 

• • Charlotte Refsum, director of health policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, will argue the need for digital health and care records. 

Integrated Care, sponsored by The Access Group includes:  

• • Helen Thomas, CEO Digital Health and Care Wales and Rashik Parmar, group CEO the British Computer Society will explore collaboration and people;  

• • Professor Rachel Dunscombe, CEO, OpenEHR International, will provide an international perspective; 

• • Alec Price-Forbes, the new national CCIO at NHS England, will set out his priorities for digital health and care. 

Leadership and Teams includes:  

• • Neil McDonald, CEO, and Mitchell Fernandez, deputy chief nurse, Buckinghamshire Health NHS Trust, will explore AI and patient safety;  

• • Dr Robert Smillie, chief medical information officer, Royal Free Hospital, will focus on culture and teams;  

• • Dr Liz Breen, director of the Digital Health Enterprise Zone, University of Bradford, will examine the digital skills needed by the NHS workforce. 

AI and Data includes:  

• • Ming Tang, chief data and analytics officer, NHS England and Dr Nicola Byrne, National Data Guardian for health and social care, will examine the future of patient data; 

• • Dr Hatim Abdulhussein, CEO Health Innovation Kent, Surrey and Sussex; and Prof Susan Shelmerdine, Roentgen Professor at the Royal College of Radiologists, children’s imaging expert, UCL and Great Ormond Street Hospital Institute of Child Health, will explore harnessing AI in health; 

• • Joe Home, clinical lead, Bupa and Dr Dom Pimenta, CEO, Tortus, will take a trip through the wild west of health tech. 

Digital Nursing, Midwifery, Allied Health Professionals (AHP) and Pharmacy includes:

• • Helen Balsdon, chief nursing information officer (CNIO), NHS England will explore the evolution of leadership roles 

• • Dr Crystal Oldman, CEO, the Queen’s Nursing Institute, will examine community nursing in the digital age; 

• • Nishali Patel, clinical lead digital medicines, NHS England; and Yousaf Ahmad, director of medicines NHS Frimley, will share latest developments in prescription tracking using the NHS App. 

Cyber Security and Infrastructure includes: 

• • Denis Lafitte, chief digital information officer, Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, will lead a deep dive session with colleagues on the clinical impact of the Synnovis attack and lessons for the wider NHS; 

• • Mike Fell, executive director of national cyber security operations, NHS England, will discuss building cyber foundations to accelerate the shift to digital; 

• • Sarah Thomas, director of digital, New Hospitals Programme, will explore building digital health infrastructure. 

Patient Engagement highlights include: 

1. 1. Rachel Power, CEO, The Patient Association, will examine whether digital can provide the tools to put patients first; 

1. 1. Prof Sara Shaw, professor of health policy and practice, University of Oxford; and Dr Sonja Marjanovic, director healthcare innovation, industry and policy, RAND Europe, will share lessons on large scale remote patient monitoring projects.  

Innovation highlights will include:  

• • Dr Malte Gerhold, director of innovation and improvement, The Health Foundation, will discuss how technology can best help the NHS; 

• • Professor David Lowe, clinical director of innovation, Scottish Government, will discuss the need to align, people, pathways and performance to implement innovation;     

• • Jacqui Cooper CNIO, Health Innovation Manchester, will share how innovation can be harnessed to make an impact on nursing. 

There will also be a Best Practice stage, with speakers soon to be announced.

Eleanor McGrath-Williams, conference manager, at Digital Health, said: “In addition to the speakers named in the draft programme a record number of NHS CEOs will take part in Rewired25, a reflection of how critical the digital agenda has become to every NHS organisation. 

“The sessions and initial speaker announcements in the draft programme will next be joined by many of the digital leaders and teams who responded to the Rewired open call, with a full programme to be published in December.” 

Digital Health Rewired 2025 will take part at the NEC in Birmingham on 18-19 March 2025. 

Rewired 2025 is free for those in the NHS and public sector. Private sector tickets are available from £495 +VAT. Register now and book your accommodation early to secure the best rates.