Blog

There has never been a more critical moment to innovate in the NHS. While the service faces unprecedented financial and operational pressures, that very challenge makes innovation essential. Across the UK, technology and new ways of working are transforming how care is delivered – shifting it from hospitals into communities, from analogue to digital, and from treatment to prevention.

At the heart of the Government’s 10-Year Health Plan is a simple but transformative vision: a digital-first NHS, powered by data, artificial intelligence, and innovation. It promises quicker, fairer access to care while creating a system that is more efficient, sustainable, and equitable for the future.

A Catalyst for Collaboration

‘Driving the Future of Innovation: West Yorkshire’s HealthTech Cluster’, a conference delivered in partnership with the West Yorkshire HealthTech Cluster, Health innovation Yorkshire & Humber, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Innovate UK’s Health Technologies Launchpad, and the West Yorkshire ICB’s HIVE Network, captured this momentum.

The direction of travel is clear. By 2029, the NHS App is set to become the main channel for patient communication – signalling a shift to digital by default services. From booking appointments to accessing AI-driven advice, this infrastructure will reshape how patients engage with the NHS and how staff deliver care.

From Discovery to Delivery

The UK has long been a world leader in health science, but our challenge is turning discovery into delivery. Too many great ideas stall before reaching patients because the system lacks the incentives, infrastructure, or headspace to adopt at scale.

Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber is helping to change that. Our region has one of the most dynamic innovation ecosystems in the country – powered by world-class universities, NHS partners, and forward-thinking businesses. Together, we’re creating an environment where research brilliance can translate into real-world benefit.

Recent policy developments, including the Life Sciences Sector Plan and the MHRA’s new international reliance routes with Australia, Canada and the US, are reinforcing the UK’s position as open for innovation. By cutting duplication and streamlining regulation, these reforms support faster, safer routes for new technologies to reach patients and free up capacity to assess high-impact innovations.

Unlocking the Health Innovation Prize

Our Health Innovation Network report, Defining the Size of the Health Innovation Prize, estimates that scaling proven health innovations could unlock £278 billion in economic value each year – through improved population health, workforce productivity, and investment potential. Innovation isn’t a cost; it’s an economic engine.

To unlock this potential, we must invest in the “adoption architecture” that enables technologies to move from pilot to practice. The NHS should be not just a test bed for innovation, but the engine that drives its adoption.

Propel HealthTech: Accelerating Growth

A major force behind this ambition is Propel HealthTech, West Yorkshire’s accelerator programme helping innovators navigate the NHS landscape and grow with confidence.

Propel HealthTech is now inviting applications from innovators with transformative digital and health technology solutions. Free for successful applicants, it offers enhanced business support, regulatory guidance, NHS networking, and tailored advice on scaling for growth.

Recently awarded £4.5 million from the West Yorkshire Mayor’s Investment Zone – part of a wider £160 million commitment to health innovation – Propel HealthTech will, over the next four years, support hundreds of businesses to scale in the NHS, contribute to economic growth, and develop life-changing technologies for patients. Supported by a host of national and international partners with deep commercial experience, the programme helps both early-stage and scaling organisations turn ideas into market-ready solutions.

DigiBete: From Local Innovation to Global Impact

One company that exemplifies this journey is DigiBete, a Leeds-based platform supporting young people with Type 1 diabetes. Founded by parents Maddie and Rob Julian after their son’s diagnosis, DigiBete offers clinically approved videos, digital care plans, and 24/7 support for children and families.

With 95% uptake across children’s diabetes clinics in England and Wales, DigiBete shows what happens when lived experience, clinical insight, and digital design come together. Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber supported DigiBete’s early adoption and growth through the Propel@YH accelerator – the predecessor to Propel HealthTech – enabling it to strengthen compliance, secure partnerships, and ultimately expand internationally into markets such as Pakistan and India.

Leading from the North

As NHS England Chief Executive Sir James Mackey recently said, the North has all the ingredients to lead on health innovation: skills, expertise, and enthusiasm. Our job is to harness them.

West Yorkshire’s collaborative model – uniting businesses, universities, the NHS and local government – is already producing world-class results. With continued investment and partnership, we can ensure that innovation not only happens here but thrives here.

If we succeed, we will improve outcomes for patients, strengthen the NHS, and drive economic growth across the UK.

Because when we innovate in health, we don’t just save money – we save lives.