Date: Tuesday 9th December
Time: 10:00am – 12:15pm
Location: Online (Goto Webinar)
We’re excited to announce the second in a series of three WMHTIA Cluster Events taking place over the coming months. Focusing on driving Local Innovation to Meet Regional NHS Challenges in alignment with the NHS 3 Radical Shifts 10 year plan.
Event Agenda
Community: Driving Local Innovation to Meet Regional NHS Challenges
Helping innovators tailor solutions to community needs within the NHS 10-Year Plan
Date: Tuesday, 9th December 2025
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:15 PM
Location: GOTO Webinar
10:00 AM – 10:05 AM: Welcome & Housekeeping
Opening remarks, event objectives, and how to make the most of the session.
10:05 AM – 10:25 AM: Insight 1 – Understanding Local Needs through Community-Leve Data
Presented by VUIT Data Labs
Discover how to identify and interpret place-based data to uncover unmet health needs at the community level and shape targeted interventions.
Q&A: 10:25 – 10:30
10:30 AM – 10:50 AM: Insight 2 – Addressing Regional Health Priorities in the West Midlands
Presented by Health Innovation West Midlands
Explore the biggest health challenges across the West Midlands, and how local businesses and innovators can engage with public sector needs to co-develop meaningful solutions. Learn how solving the specific, real-world challenges of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and regional trusts can drive more relevant and impactful innovation — shifting from national to hyper-local approaches.
Q&A: 10:50 – 10:55
10:55 AM – 11:15 AM: Insight 3 – Partnerships as Catalysts for Hospital-to-Community Transformation
Presented by Our Health Partnership (OHP)
By leveraging scale, shared infrastructure, and data-driven referral pathways, OHP can empower GPs to act as local coordinators—reducing hospital demand while delivering more proactive, prevention-led care.
Q&A: 11:15 – 11:20
11:20 AM – 11:30 AM: Open Networking Break
An opportunity to connect, share experiences, and find collaborators with shared regional interests.
11:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Interactive Workshop – Tackling Community Health Challenges Through Innovation
Join a practical discussion on the barriers and opportunities for working at the community level — exploring key questions such as:
- How can innovators effectively engage with local systems?
- What strategies support trust-building and uptake at the community level?
- How can businesses co-design solutions with communities and health systems?
12:00 PM – 12:15 PM: Reflections & Closing Discussion
Collective reflections, insight-sharing, and guidance on how to move forward with community-driven innovation in the NHS.
Speaker Profile
Omar Daniels, Healthtech Investor & Accelerator
Omar previously co-founded and scaled a startup into 25% of NHS GP practices in 18 months. He is an operator-turned investor in early stage healthtech startups, while also sitting on the Board of NHS South West London ICB as an Associate NED. Omar founded and leads the Primary Care Accelerator, a recently launched programme to back, accelerate and scale innovation in Primary Care. PCA is embedded within at-scale GP practice groups, bringing real-world customers closer to innovators.
Judith Stewart, Director of Economic, Commercial and Business Development, Health Innovation West Midlands
As the Director for Economic, Commercial and Business Development for Health Innovation West Midlands, Judith support innovators and health care systems to discover, develop and deploy innovations for the betterment of all. Across her 25+ year career, she has been instrumental in economic, employment and community development across the South West and Midlands. With a wide ranging network of contacts and support the organisations, she enjoys tackling challenges with curiosity and creativity, always seeking better outcomes.
This event forms part of the West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA) event series. Medilink Midlands are one of a consortium of delivery partners for the WMHTIA, a project funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovate UK and West Midlands Combined Authority (part of City Regions).
