Life sciences and the NHS: delivering the next generation of health innovation

This opening session takes stock a year on from the 10 Year Health Plan to assess how far the vision for life sciences is translating into reality. 

There is strong ambition around genomics, advanced diagnostics, data and AI, new medicines and automation. But how far are these priorities being matched by progress on the ground, and does the system have what it needs to deliver and what are the risks if the system is not ready for the future? 

Together we will explore:

1. How far the vision set out in the 10 Year Health Plan is being realised in practice 

2. Whether ambition and delivery are aligned, or whether (and where) gaps are emerging 

3. Whether the system has what it needs to succeed, including workforce, infrastructure and capability 

4. Where progress is being made, and where momentum is slower or more uncertain 

5. What needs to happen next to keep pace and deliver meaningful impact 

This session explores one of the most ambitious aims outlined in the 10 Year Health Plan: moving genomics from specialist services into a wider population health approach. 

But where does genomics fit within a broader approach to population health, and how prepared is the NHS, its workforce and the public for that shift in practice? 

 In this session we will discuss: 

• What a population health genomics approach means, and how it fits within a wider focus on prevention and population health. 

• The moral and ethical questions raised by wider use of genomics and how these are being addressed. 

• What implementation looks like in practice, including system readiness, pathways, workforce capability and how information is communicated to patients and the public. 

It is easy to feel stuck whenever everything seems urgent or overwhelming. Across areas such as data and AI, diagnostics, new medicines and digital technologies, promising ideas often struggle to take hold in practice. 

But how, as leaders, do we lead, partner and scale in a stretched NHS? 

This interactive session creates space to pause, reflect and think clearly with others who are trying to lead innovation in a stretched system. Together we will consider: 

• How leaders are navigating competing pressures and making progress in a constrained system.  

• How to demonstrate value and make the case for change when benefits are long-term or hard to measure.  

• What is helping innovation stick, and what can be applied more widely. 

Across the day so far, we have heard about some of the major ‘big bets’ shaping the life sciences agenda. But these are only part of the picture. 

This session looks beyond those bets to explore what else will shape the future of health and care and what that could mean for the NHS and the life sciences sector. 

Some of the biggest influences sit outside where the system is currently focused – from changes in how people are managing their own health, to challenges which have a wider impact on the future of population health. 

Life sciences innovation is increasingly organised through place-based models such as campuses, bringing together industry, research and health services. In some settings, these have helped collaboration and moved ideas into practice more quickly. 

The 10 Year Health Plan has also set out ambitions for health innovation zones, but there is still limited clarity on how these will develop in practice. Delivering these will depend on a coalition of the willing, bringing together partners across a place to agree priorities, pool resources and support implementation. 

This session looks at how place-based approaches are working on the ground, and what this means for other parts of the system. 

We will explore: 

• How campuses and innovation zones are set up and operate in practice. 

• What co-location makes easier and what it does not. 

• How these initiatives connect to the wider health system and local communities. 

We will also consider: 

• What lessons apply to places organised very differently. 

• How areas without campuses or zones can still access partnerships and innovation. 

• Where the benefits translate, and where limits remain. 

Most health research still takes place in hospitals, even as policy commits to shifting care from hospitals to community settings. 

Although research in hospitals is vital for driving innovation and improvements in care, the discrepancy between where care is delivered (and will increasingly be delivered), and where research is conducted, is significant. If policy‑makers are serious about reorienting the system, re-balancing research must be part of the solution. This means focusing research on where people live and receive care, not just where the labs, scanners and specialists are. 

This session will explore how research and innovation can be brought closer to communities and community settings in support of better, fairer health and care. We will unpack the barriers, share practical learning, and outline actions systems can take now to expand research activity in neighbourhood and community settings, and how this can also support the twin aim of an ambition for a stronger UK life sciences and innovation landscape.  

In this session we will: 

• consider why research activity remains concentrated in hospitals and the implications for care closer to home and the research and innovation sector. 

• Hear examples of how local areas are beginning to develop research activity in neighbourhood and community settings. 

• Gain practical considerations for systems exploring how to support more research where people live and receive care. 

Across life sciences and health innovation, many of the technologies at the heart of the 10 Year Health Plan, from automation and robotics to data-driven tools and wearable devices, are starting to move into wider use. The challenge is not proving their potential but embedding them into routine care at scale. 

This session focuses on what it takes to turn that potential into sustained impact in practice. It will explore how organisations are embedding these technologies into services, and how leaders are working with partners to support adoption and make the case for investment. We'll explore: 

• How technologies such as automation, wearables and digital tools are being embedded into routine care, and what has enabled that shift. 

• What needs to change in practice including pathways, workforce roles and ways of working to support adoption at scale. 

• How organisations are working with partners, including industry and employers, to deliver and sustain innovation in practice. 

• What supports wider spread, including how impact is demonstrated and how learning is shared across systems. 

Across the day, we’ve looked at the ambition behind life sciences, where progress is being made, and what it takes to deliver change in practice. But is the level of ambition enough?  And what would it take to deliver innovation at pace across the whole system and realise the potential of the five big bets? 

We will discuss: 

• what we would prioritise if we were serious about delivering impact at pace. 

• what we would be prepared to do less of, or stop, to make that happen. 

• where the key trade-offs sit between speed, access, cost and risk. 

• what needs to shift at national level to support faster, more consistent progress.