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NHS England Chief Executive Sir James Mackey urged health leaders to accelerate innovation, in his keynote address to a conference organised by the four northern health innovation networks in Leeds.

Health leaders attending Health Innovation North were told:

“The North can lead the way in innovation; we have the ability, we have the raw ingredients, we have your skills, expertise and enthusiasm; we need to harness it.”

He described the need for innovation in all areas of the NHS, to replace paper-based records with technology and digital systems, to transform services to keep people out of hospital; and to create new drugs and devices. They are all a priority, he said. 

“Frankly, when we are trying to prioritise we need all these innovations, everywhere and as quickly as we can,” he told the audience in Cloth Hall Court, Leeds. 

“We are reliant on a service model that was built for 1948, it was not built for today and we are reliant on lots of things that technology can replace and clinical models can replace, we can be organised in different ways.” 

And rather than seeing the NHS as a cost burden on society we should view it as a driver of economic growth. 

“We all know, especially in the North, we are massive employers – the main employer, the main supply chain. We are the thing that can drive the economy … we have to shift the conversation and think more about the growth opportunity.” 

Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber Chief Executive Richard Stubbs who co-hosted the conference, said:

“This event showed us some of the fantastic collaborations that are accelerating health innovation and economic growth in the north and shone a light on the powerhouse that is our northern economy. 

“We were challenged by Sir James Mackey to lead the way in innovating and delivering the aims of the 10-year plan and we will do that by working together across different sectors, alongside our metro mayors and local authorities, with a focus on the needs of our population. 

“Health Innovation North has become the place where we meet as system leaders and innovators to learn from each other and start new collaborations. I look forward to following up on the discussions and new connections, joining up our collective strengths to pack an even bigger punch as a northern health powerhouse.” 

The event was organised by Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, Health Innovation North West Coast, Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria and Health Innovation Manchester. 

It was sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, Quantexa, First Databank UK Ltd, and Nexus, University of Leeds. 

Sir James Mackey’s presentation and all other sessions at Health Innovation North are available to view on YouTube.