NHSE chief nurse Duncan Burton to deliver Rewired 2025 keynote

England’s most senior nurse, Duncan Burton, is the latest high-profile NHS keynote to join the Digital Health Rewired 2025 speaker line-up.  

The chief nursing officer for NHS England will speak at Rewired at the NEC in Birmingham on 18-19 March 2025 to share his experience in leading the NHS nursing workforce and how he sees the role of digital in in solving challenges for the sector.

Lord Darzi’s independent review of the NHS in England, published in September 2024, places NHS nurses at the forefront of digital transformation and they will need to rapidly learn new skills to operate tools, tests and technologies.  

However experts warned, in the leaked Phillips Ives review, that the NHS is suffering from a digital skills shortage, which could potentially put the brakes on innovation.

As chief nurse, Burton plays a pivotal role as the government’s most senior advisor on nursing matters, helping to lead the transformation and modernisation of the NHS. 

Burton has served as a nurse for more than 25 years and most recently held the post of deputy chief nursing officer where he led on the maternity and neonatal programme and the children and young people’s transformation programme.  

He will deliver his keynote on the Integrated Care Stage in a fireside chat with Helen Balsdon, chief nursing information officer (CNIO) at NHSE.

Rewired 2025 will feature some of the UK’s leading figures in nursing, including:

• Anne Watkins, national maternity clinical informatics lead at Digital Health and Care Wales;
• Rabina Tindale, chief nurse at Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS FT ; 
• Kellie-Jayne Mohess, nursing information officer at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS FT;
• Mitchell Fernandez, deputy chief nurse at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust; 
• Janet Dodd, CNIO at Sheffield Children’s NHS FT;  and
• Fran Beadle, CNIO at Digital Health and Care Wales.

Meanwhile, the Digital Nursing Summit Stage will feature case studies, panel sessions and keynotes showcasing the fantastic work happening to empower nurses, midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists to shape the development of digital tools and services for the benefit of all patients. 

This week the Rewired programme was published in draft, showcasing the most important national programmes and local initiatives underway to accelerate the shift from analogue to digital health.

Rewired 2025, which is co-headline sponsored by The Access Group and Microsoft will see NHS leaders joined by healthcare providers and planners, researchers and academics, established industry leaders, suppliers and the most exciting start-ups. 

The event 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. Register here.

This story was updated at 15.36 on 28 November 2024 to say that Duncan Burton will be talking on the Integrated Care Stage. An earlier version said that he would be part of the Digital Nursing Summit.