Speakers 2024

Hatim is the Chief Executive Officer for Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, part of the NHS Health Innovation Network and a GP in North West London.
Currently an Honorary Professor of Innovation and AI in the School of Medicine at the University of Surrey, Hatim sits on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Technology Appraisals Committee, the Responsible AI UK Health and Care Group and the Responsible AI Institute Sustainable AI Consortium. Hatim holds Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and Fellowship of Advance Higher Education and the British Computer Society.
As an international speaker, he has contributed to the publication of academic papers and white papers spanning workforce, education reform, innovation, primary care, digital health, and AI. Hatim is an advocate for safe, ethical, and responsible digital and AI transformation and ensuring workforce preparedness for new innovations and technologies in health and care.

Dr Alhaq is has been a peer reviewer for the United Kingdom & Belgium Accreditation Services for medical laboratory services and a past reviewer of the Healthcare Inspectorate Wales. As an academic researcher, he was a principal investigator and senior lecturer at KCL, London from 2002-2012 and a visiting senior lecturer at Kingston University, helping to set up and teach on the MSc programme on Cancer Studies.

Dr Alhaq is a Clinical Medical Advisor to the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), leading the Bank’s strategy of developing a chain of African Medical Centres of Excellence (AMCE) focusing on delivering tertiary referral centres. He is a non-executive director of the first AMCE in Abuja, Nigeria, focusing on cancer, cardiovascular disease, and haematological medicine.

Dr Alhaq served as Chief Clinical Scientist at King’s College Hospital from 2016-2022 and was a non-executive director of Viapath Pathology from 2012-2018. At an operational role, he has held several divisional roles within KingsPath and Viapath pathology services and was an operational lead and board member of the South-East pathology Transformation Programme from 2018-2021. He was operational lead for the 100,000 Genomes project at King’s College Hospital from 2014-2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was seconded to the NHS Test & Trace programme to help expand the SARS-CoV2 PCR testing capacity both locally and nationally, and to establish a robust framework for validating new SARS-CoV2 testing.

He is passionate about ensuring the safe, effective and appropriate use of medicines and has worked in partnership with healthcare professionals and patients over 30 years to drive forward research and policy development in prescribing and patient safety.

He has led a number of major studies investigating the frequency, nature and causes of prescribing safety problems in the NHS. He has also developed effective methods for tackling hazardous prescribing, most notably the pharmacist-led, IT-based intervention called PINCER, which has now been rolled out nationally to general practices in England.

Tony’s work recognises the vital role that medicines have in treating illness and helping people live with long-term conditions, while acknowledging that prescribing of a medicine is not always the best solution. He is committed to ensuring health care professionals and patients have the information and support they need for shared decision making about whether a prescription is needed and, if so, how to balance the effectiveness and safety of medicines alongside the costs to the patient, the NHS and the environment.

Helen is Chief Nursing information Officer at NHS England.

Helen’s work seeks to ensure that nursing and midwifery practice is supported by digital technology and data science and that nurses and midwifes are equipped to work and lead in an digitally enabled environment.  

Helen is passionate about using technology to support the delivery of high quality, evidence-based care and empowering patients in managing their own health record.”  

Alongside nursing and midwifery, Helen’s leadership portfolio includes frontline digitisation, digital citizen and maternity and child health. 

Mike Bracken CBE is a global digital leader who has led wholesale transformations of large institutions in the private and public sector. He helps organisations change their way of working and solve systemic market, societal and macroeconomic challenges. He is best known for leading the global revolution in digital government, taking the UK to #1 in the UN rankings in 2016.

Mike Bracken is a founding partner at Public Digital, a digital change consultancy for institutions with a public mission. He was the founder and executive director of the UK Government Digital Service (GDS) and the UK’s first Government Chief Data Officer.

Mike has led digital operations and transformations in large-scale organisations in the UK and Europe, such as Guardian News & Media and the Co-operative Group. A civic technologist who helped establish MySociety, Mike uses the power of the open Internet to drive systemic change.

He currently advises more than 30 governments and global financial institutions on digital transformation, from Canada and Australia to Argentina, and is currently one of President Macron’s Global Tech Thinkers. He is an honorary professor at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London. Mike is a partner at the Lisbon Council in Brussels and a Non-Executive Director at Chetwood Bank, a fully licensed UK fintech.

Laura is the Clinical Development Lead for the Digital Health Transformation Service at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.  In this role, she guides like-minded digital nurses to successfully adopt innovative ways to reach out and engage with service users. Laura qualified as a paediatric nurse in 2007, working in an acute paediatric setting before commencing her career in school nursing in 2018, and completing the PGDip in specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) in 2020. In her previous role, Laura led on ChatHealth for the School Nursing Team in Manchester, igniting her passion for digital nursing.

Dr Nicola Byrne has served as the National Data Guardian for health and adult social care in England since March 2021. With over 20 years of experience in mental health, she continues her clinical role as a consultant psychiatrist at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. Previously, she held the positions of Deputy Medical Director, Caldicott Guardian, and Chief Clinical Information Officer at the trust.

The National Data Guardian offers independent advice, guidance, and challenge to the government and others on the safe, ethical, and appropriate use of people’s confidential information in health and adult social care. The role’s mission is to uphold trust in a confidential health and care system.

Chris is Clinical Lead and Honorary Professor of Respiratory Innovation in the West of Scotland Innovation Hub, and Clinical Lead for Respiratory Medicine, South Sector NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. His subspecialty, research and innovation work is focused on implementation and evaluation of assistive digital technologies to establish end-end pathway transformation and new service models for patients with COPD, severe respiratory failure and sleep disorders. The West of Scotland Innovation hub provides comprehensive test-bed infrastructure to host collaborations between NHS, academic and commercial partners to co-design, co-develop and co-deliver clinical innovations through from concept to procurement. The hub’s respiratory portfolio DYNAMIC, POLARIS and DYNAMIC-AI projects are Glasgow-developed exemplars which are scaling-up nationally, transforming long-term condition management.
woshealthinnovation

Natalie is a Partner at JMAN Group. She was recently named in the Twenty in Data and Technology 2023 and has been recognized multiple times in the top 100 data professionals. She holds various leadership roles in the data community including Chairing a Women’s Health movement, leading a cross-industry Data Ethics Advisory Board, and being a member of the Mayor’s Data for London Advisory Board. Before JMAN Group, Natalie headed up data consultancy Profusion, overseeing strategic direction, the expansion of its product offering, and the growth of its blue-chip client base.

Natalie also scaled a start-up from £6 million to £30 million in just 18 months and ran above-the-line digital and email marketing campaigns for the Mayor of London to launch a new brand, ‘Team London,’ build and engage a database of 1 million Londoners who would volunteer, and secure London the title of European Volunteering Capital. She was also part of the team that delivered the London 2012 Olympic Games.

I started my nursing career in Sheffield and specialised in Neonates for 23 years and then became Ward Manager of a Paediatric Surgical Ward. I was seconded to the role of Matron for Digital Technology in December 2021 to support digitisation on the acute site and have recently been appointed as the first CNIO at Sheffield Children’s Hospital which involves responsibility for the development, optimisation, implementation, and clinical safety of the digital systems used across the trust including Community and Mental health.

I have always had an interest in patient information and data, and although I am not an expert in technology, I embrace digital change and the benefits it brings and believe that clinical leadership is paramount for successful transformation.

Mike has spent 15 years in range of security roles for the UK Government, and is currently Executive Director of National Cyber Operations for NHS Digital, with accountability for the security of NHS Digital’s data and systems, as well as supporting the resilience of the wider Health System in defending and respond to cyber attacks.

Prior to this, Mike spent six years as the Head of Cyber Security Operations and Deputy Chief Security Officer for HMRC. Previous roles have included leading HMRC’s anti-phishing efforts, work with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in Afghanistan, helping to secure the 2012 Olympic & Paralympics and voluntary work to help others protect themselves from cyber threats.

Monica is involved in influencing national and international policies through her activities including membership of the WHO’s Global Alliance Against Respiratory Disease (GARD), the European Respiratory Society, the American Thoracic Society, the European COPD Coalition, and the International Primary Care Respiratory Group. She is an Associate of the Center for Managing Chronic Disease, University of Michigan.

She is also Chair of the UK Inhaler Group, Knowledge Exchange Lead for the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research, and Chair of the European Respiratory Nurses Association (ERNA).

Monica is honoured with an OBE for services to nursing.

With over 30 years of midwifery experience, Jules Gudgeon is a key player in advancing digital technology in maternity care, post the 2015 National Maternity Review by Baroness Cumberlege. Leading roles in the NHS Digital Maternity Programme and the creation of the award-winning Digital Midwives Expert Reference Group, now the Digital Maternity Leaders community, showcases her commitment to collaborative efforts in the digital maternity landscape.

As the National Chief Midwifery Information Officer at NHS England, she was a 2023 HSJ Clinical Leader of the Year Award finalist. In 2024, Jules persists in advocating for digital leadership and addressing the maternity digital divide with #FixTheDigitalDivide #DigitalMaternity.

Ele has deep expertise in digital health with a focus on AI and regulation. She previously worked at the NHS AI Lab where she led on two key reports looking at the evaluation of AI-enabled medical devices, and ways to develop and deploy AI-enabled medical devices across jurisdictions. She is also a member of the BSI.

Paul is the Chief Digital Information Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, where he leads a team of 450 digital and information staff. He has held senior, digital roles in the public and private sector over the last twenty-years including CTO for the NHS in England and Group CIO at Serco.

Matt is Senior Adviser for Cardiovascular Health at UCLPartners. The focus of the Cardiovascular Health Programme is to transform prediction, detection and management of cardiovascular risk in order to prevent heart attacks and strokes at scale. Current innovations include the award winning UCLPartners Proactive Care Frameworks to transform management of the high-risk conditions for cardiovascular disease, and CVDACTION – a smart data tool for primary care to identify, prioritise and optimise care in people with high-risk conditions. 

From 2016-2019, Matt was National Clinical Director for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and led development of the NHS Long Term Plan CVD Prevention Programme. He co-founded and led development of CVDprevent, the national audit for CVD prevention. He also practices as a GP in Shropshire. 

Previously Matt worked as advisor to the Department of Health respiratory programme, and was a member of the NICE Public Health Interventions Advisory Committee from 2005 to 2013. He has a master’s degree in public health and is a Fellow of the Royal College of GPs and the Royal College of Physicians. 

Philippa is on the Board of the AI Centre for Value Based Healthcare and is a champion for the safe, ethical, and responsible implementation of AI in health and care. 

Currently serving as the Clinical Safety Officer and Digital Transformation Lead at Kent Community Health, Caroline is at the forefront of integrating technology into healthcare. She is passionate about driving the sustainable use of digital systems, with a particular focus on their impact on staff and patient well-being. Caroline’s unique blend of extensive clinical experience and digital expertise positions her as a valuable voice in the evolving landscape of healthcare technology

He sits on the Royal College of Radiology Informatics committee, on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Doctoral Training for Biomedical AI in Edinburgh University and is a scientific advised to the National Covid Chest Imaging Database.

A graduate of Trinity College Medicine, along with his medical degree he also qualified with an Msc. in Health Informatics and completed his radiology training in Aberdeen. He is an honorary senior clinical lecturer in the University of Aberdeen. Dr Lip has published and spoken on topics nationally and internationally such as patient engagement, innovation in breast imaging techniques quality assurance and safety in breast AI.

He leads on range of projects including trauma for the STN (thetraumaapp.com), Dynamic COPD (support.nhscopd.scot) and OPERA(early diagnostic heart failure utilising AI). Such projects focus on developing AI/ML clinical decision support by embedding a data driven approach combined with patient co-management into clinical care pathways. David also established the EmQuire research group focusing on data, device and decisions within Emergency Medicine.

Neil has been Chief Executive of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust since January 2019, after holding the interim position a year. Prior to this he was part of the Trust Board for 3 years as Chief Operating Officer.

Neil chairs the Buckinghamshire Executive Partnership and is vice-chair of the Health & Wellbeing Board in Buckinghamshire. Neil is also Honorary Professor of Professional Practice for the School of Business at the University of Buckingham, and Trustee of Scannappeal.

Neil started his NHS career in Yorkshire as a National General Management Trainee in 2003, before joining the Trust in 2005. After leaving for a role at the Healthcare Commission and general management positions at Imperial and Guys and St. Thomas’ Trusts, he returned to the organisation in July 2013 as Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Surgery and Critical Care Division.

Graduating from St. Anne’s College, Oxford with a modern history degree in 2000, Neil subsequently completed an MSc in Healthcare Management from the University of Birmingham.

Dr. Jessica Morley has worked in NHS data, tech, and AI policy for the past ten years. Originally working in the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care, she transitioned to working full-time in academia in 2019: working for the Bennett Institute of Applied Data Science at the University of Oxford on OpenSAFELY and the Goldacre Review until April 2023.

Now, having completed her PhD “Designing an algorithmically enhanced NHS”, also at the University of Oxford, she is a postdoctoral researcher at the Yale Digital Ethics Center. All Jess’s work focuses on ensuring healthcare systems can capitalise on the opportunities of better use of data, whilst mitigating the ethical harms.

Philip Nkwam is an AI and Data specialist dedicated to transforming digital health through innovative technology. With extensive experience in medical imaging, he has played a key role in developing deep learning algorithms, collaborating with institutions like St Cyril Cancer Treatment Foundation and MIT. Philip’s work focuses on adapting AI models to the unique challenges of Black populations especially from Sub-Saharan Africa, ensuring they are effective and accessible across diverse populations.

Leading teams in high-impact projects, such as the BRATS Africa Hackathon, Philip has demonstrated his expertise in advanced architectures like Vision Transformers and U-Net for glioma segmentation. His leadership resulted in a 0.93 Dice score in 3D MRI brain tumor segmentation, highlighting his ability to drive significant advancements in healthcare AI.

Driven by a personal commitment to democratize healthcare, Philip is passionate about making advanced diagnostic tools accessible to underserved populations. His strong foundation in quantitative methods and statistical analysis, coupled with his experience in medical software, positions him as a key innovator at the intersection of AI and digital health. A trusted collaborator and effective communicator, Philip is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of AI to improve global healthcare.

She is equally leading efforts to facilitate secure access to data for research and innovation with the design and implementation of a network-wide approach to data management and governance.

Architecture Lead, Traverse Digital – providing services on behalf of the Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Shared Care Record. Toby is currently working alongside health and care organisations in the region to deliver shared care record functionality aligning to local priorities. He is leading on discovery activities to ensure that challenges in different care settings are well understood and that technical capabilities solve the right problem. This also includes the design of standards for health and social care information that align to national and regional approaches.

In the past he has worked on health and care digital transformation initiatives with NHS trusts and local government in Leeds as well as on the Yorkshire & Humber Care Record. Toby’s previous experience has also included solution architecture, application development and clinical informatics for EMIS Health. He has a particular interest in using human-centred design and design-thinking methodologies alongside enterprise architecture best practice.

Jenny’s mission is to make healthcare work better for patients and staff through innovation. She is an engineer by background, with a particular interest in how digital technology can support better healthcare. Jenny worked for many years in primary care management setting up new services and medical centres, and recognises the huge potential of AI to address service and workload challenges. 

Alec Price-Forbes joined NHS England as national Chief Clinical Information Officer at the start of October.

Alec is an experienced Consultant Rheumatologist at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, was previously the Trust’s CCIO and was the NHS’s first system CCIO for Coventry and Warwickshire’s Health and Care System. He has also held roles as Clinical Lead and co-Chair for NHSE’s Digital Blueprinting Steering Group and as CMIO for 3M Healthcare (UK and Ireland).

With a reputation as a compassionate and empathic clinician, he has an established track record of working across care settings to facilitate new ways of working to transform health and care delivery. With extensive experience in strategic planning and quality improvement, he has successfully led many programmes and projects, accelerating and embedding core Digital capabilities. These include the Shared Care Record, consolidating EPR capabilities with a vision for a single EPR, Virtual Health and Care capabilities and a Population Health Management solution. In 2021, he spearheaded the creation of a digitally-enabled Transformation Strategy for Coventry and Warwickshire’s ICS. This emphasised the convergence and standardisation of systems to deliver maximal integration, focusing on citizens and patients and not just care providers.

He is passionate about the role of high quality data, digital technologies and capabilities in enabling us to reimagine health and care services and outcomes in meeting the Quintuple Aim of HealthCare and dedicated to improving patient care by fostering a culture of change and collaboration.

​Haris Shuaib is CEO of Newton’s Tree, a company that delivers an enterprise AI platform to healthcare organisations to help them evaluate, deploy, and monitor 3rd party AI solutions.

Haris is also a healthcare professional and currently Consultant Clinical Scientist and Head of the Clinical Scientific Computing section at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, where his team are developing people, platforms, and policy for digital health.

Finally, he also holds a NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship, where he is leading a national multi-centre trial to see whether AI can improve the treatment of glioblastoma.

​

He has strategized, operationalised, and transformed stroke services at BHRUT with the PRIDEWAY leading to a D-rated service to A or B-rated. This service won the BMJ award for 2019 for rapid transformation.

He is interested in clinician-focused digital intervention with population-based data to prevent secondary events, clinically meaningful AI, and data-led intervention in the pathways.

Dr Robert Smillie has a dual role as Chief Medical Information Officer at the Royal Free London, and Radiology Registrar at the Royal London Hospital.

He has authored numerous publications on digital consent and shared decision making. He is the Partnership Lead of the Innovation Hub for the Royal College of Surgeons (England). He is passionate about healthcare and effective, safe innovation. Amongst other skills he has domain expertise in consent & shared decision making, the evaluation of medical devices and digital health.

Ming has over 20 years’ experience in managing and delivering large scale change involving implementation of new operating models in complex and challenging environments.

She joined the NHS in October 2009, initially leading commissioning support services in the West Midlands as the Managing Director for Healthcare Commissioning Services and then as the Managing Director for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Commissioning Support Unit.

Ming is currently the Chief Data and Analytics Officer for NHS England responsible for strategic development of data and analytics capability across NHS.

Helen has been the CEO of Digital Health & Care Wales since 2021, leading the organisation’s impressive response to the Covid-19 pandemic, supporting the NHS in Wales to adopt data and digital advances at pace and scale.

Helen also led the organisation through its transition to a Special Health Authority on 1st April 2021, with Digital Health & Care Wales continuing to deliver national digital and data services to NHS Wales.

Helen was named Digital NHS CEO of the year in 2021, and has an MSc in Health Informatics from Swansea University, is a leading practitioner of the Federation of Informatics Professionals, a fellow of the British Computer Society and a Professor of Practice at University of Wales Trinity St David.

​