For more than 140 years, the vaulted arches of historic Manchester Central have represented strength and innovation, originally as the site of one of the country’s key rail stations. Then in more recent history, growth and regeneration.
With the ongoing reset of the NHS, the building’s historical pedigree was symbolic of the important juncture that Avi Mehra, co-chair of the HETT Steering Committee, said the NHS was now facing as he opened HETT North 2025.
He highlighted five themes for the year in terms of the NHS’ digital transformation: the “three big shifts”; tackling NHS data and infrastructure; embracing AI safely; the financial and operational reality; and the NHS workforce. He added: “2025 will be a defining year, the priority will be a shift from ambition and vision to execution and impact.”
Ministerial commitment and keynotes
Karin Smyth, minister of state for health and secondary care, also underlined this in a short, pre-recorded video address. The video chronicled the ongoing discussions on the NHS 10-year plan, and a raft of recent central initiatives to drive digital transformation, enhance clinical care and empower patients.
She declared from a giant screen: “We are committed to change, and we are committed to working with you to transform the NHS for future generations.”
Sir Richard Leese CBE, chair of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board, presented a positive vision in his opening keynote, drawing on examples of frontline developments to improve healthcare delivery and driving integration through digital innovation.
Amongst a number of areas for future development, Leese cited: further devolution; effective long term planning to move away from capital to revenue finance models; use of more AI and cloud delivery, while also ensuring governance and data systems in which AI was managed rather than AI doing the managing.
The Manchester ICB was also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand the impact of health on employment, and vice versa, to create a sustainable future health system – an area that Sir Richard Leese believed Greater Manchester ICB was at the forefront of.
He concluded: “I genuinely believe that in the next few years we can make massive in-roads on poor health, and using the scale and capacity of Greater Manchester as a demonstrator for this.”
Underneath the arches – showcasing healthcare innovation and digital transformation
This year HETT North welcomed attendees, exhibitors and speakers for a vibrant celebration of healthcare innovation and transformation. It featured a main plenary area, digital maturity forum, innovation trail and insights zone, with a floor standout being the world’s first mobile urology truck, exhibited by SAH Diagnostics.
Jamie Whysall, head of health at Netcompany, an IT services and consulting company exhibiting at HETT North, cited the networking value of attending the conference. He said: “We’ve had some really good conversations about what we’ve been doing elsewhere in Europe, and how those can apply to the UK and also how some of the work we’re doing in other verticals, could be translated into healthcare.”
David Holbrook, senior category manager for digital and IT at NHS Shared Business Services, agreed. “There’s a great atmosphere with lots of suppliers and interesting stakeholders from across the NHS, so plenty of great networking.”
The link between health and wealth
Back in the main plenary Richard Stubbs, chief executive of Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber and chair of the National Health Innovation Network, continued the theme of the link between health and the nation’s wealth in his own keynote on digital innovation.
Currently there are 2.8 million economically inactive long term sick. Statistics from BCG Consulting estimated that reducing this number could boost the UK’s GDP by £109-177 billion over the next five years.
Richard Stubbs advocated a culture of taking world class solutions to common problems, adapting them and then embedding in local healthcare.
But how to go about building a scalable, financially supported and modern NHS?
In a panel session moderated by Ian Hogan, chief digital information officer, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Trust, there was a view that there should be a more strategic approach to long term funding. Otherwise, trusts would continue to raid their capital budgets to invest in the future.
Culturally too, on a number of fronts there needed to be change. Panellists discussed whether clinicians were too risk averse with regard to innovation and what the conditions were for welcoming it.
Andrew Davies, digital health lead at the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), said there needed to be a bigger focus on measures to help bring in innovation. Olivia Burns, a patient entrepreneur and member of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme, called for closer collaboration between the NHS and private companies, which had an “abundance of resources”, to help introduce innovation.
Some of these themes were echoed in a subsequent panel examining productivity strategies that initially posed the question as to whether innovation always entailed technology.
Sheikh Mateen Ellahi, a GP partner, said it was important to consider cultural change and Leah Parry, CxIO, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS FT, emphasised the need to get the “bread and butter” issues right so that as a priority staff could get the “most and best” out of the technology that was already available. “We need to develop the core functionality first and ensure everybody has the same level of skill,” Parry said.
There was plenty of evidence at HETT North that getting the basics right is understood and will be of increasing focus in this crucial year for the NHS alongside its future development.
Once a great travel interchange, Manchester Central provided an exciting, buzzing platform for HETT North 2025 and ensured it provided a strong contribution to setting NHS transformation on track this year.
HETT returns to the Excel in London from the 7-8th October 2025, find out more at hettshow.co.uk.
