First stages announced for Digital Health Rewired 2026

The first wave of stages included in the highly anticipated Digital Health Rewired 2026 programme have been announced.

More than 80 of the UK’s most influential digital health leaders – from national chief information officers (CIOs), chief clinical information officers (CCIOs) and chief nursing information officers (CNIOs) to pioneering clinicians, data scientists, innovators and researchers – have been confirmed as speakers at the NEC Birmingham on 24–25 March 2026.

Digital Transformation Stage

The Rewired 2026 programme opens with two major morning keynotes on the Digital Transformation Stage. Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of The Health Foundation, and ex-national AI lead, Indra Joshi, now chief development officer at Optum UK, will explore what it takes to enable digital transformation for a modern, sustainable health service.

Integrated Care Stage

This stage will focus on the next steps for delivering digitally-enabled neighbourhood care.

Opening with England’s primary care transformation lead Dr Minal Bakhai MBE providing a national update on the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme, the keynote session will feature experts from The Access Group exploring practical steps and innovations to turn integrated care from concept into reality.

Data and Digital Stage

Dr Nnenna Osuji, chief executive of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, has been added to a session on the new Data and Digital stage. Joined by experts from UCL Partners, she will share real world examples of how AI is being embedded into pathways to truly have a preventative healthcare delivery.

AI Stage

Other stand-out sessions include a spotlight session on the AI stage with Professor Alastair Dennison, who is leading a new commission to help regulate AI and will discuss regulatory frameworks for safe AI adoption and integrating this technology into frontline care.

Amongst the inspiring speakers shaping the future of digital health, are:

• Dr Nnenna Osuji, CEO, Royal Free London NHS FT
• Dr Jessica Morley, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Digital Ethics Center, Yale University
• Prof Ben Goldacre, Director, Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science
• Prof Andy Hardy, CEO, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
• Siobhan Harrington, CEO, University Hospitals Dorset
• Beverley Bryant, Chief Digital Officer, Dorset Providers
• Dr Chris Plummer, CCIO, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS FT
• Helen Balsdon, National CNIO, NHS England
• Alec Price-Forbes, National CCIO, NHS England
• Dr Paul Rice, CDIO, Department of Health, Northern Ireland
• Katrina Laks, Member of the Management Board, Estonian Health Economy Association
• David Davis, CCIO, London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
• Julia Gudgeon, Chief Midwifery Information Officer, NHS England
• Hutan Ashrafian, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Department of Surgery & Cancer, Imperial College London
• Gillian Leng, President, The Royal Society of Medicine
• Dr Charlotte Refsum, Director of Health Policy, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Karl Grundy, managing director at Digital Health, said: “Rewired continues to curate the sector’s leading conference programme, spearheaded by the digital leaders at the forefront of NHS modernisation.

“I want to extend a huge thank you to our programme committee, who have peer-reviewed a record 300+ speaker applications to shape what will be our most expansive programme yet.

“The first four stages have been released to provide details of content and outputs for those looking to book study leave. The programme will be CPD-accredited and covering the topics shaping the NHS’s move to community, digitisation and prevention, supporting the delivery of national goals.

“More announcements are coming soon. We’ll be releasing the Digital Leadership, Patient Engagement, Cyber and Infrastructure, EPR Optimisation, Digital Frontline and Best Practice stages in January. The countdown to Rewired 2026 has truly started.”

The first four stages have been released to help support delegates in taking time out of the office to attend the essential event of the year.

Topics from the NHS’s move to community, digitisation and prevention will be hosted on these stages, as well as other stages to be announced in January, covering Digital Leadership, Patient Engagement, Cyber and Infrastructure, EPR Optimisation, Digital Frontline and Best Practice stages.

The co-headline sponsors for Rewired26 are The Access Group and Optum, who also sponsor the Integrated Care and Digital Transformation stages respectively.

Book your place at Rewired today. Free for NHS, public sector, charities, research and education. Commercial tickets start from £769+VAT.