With the ever-increasing demand on the NHS, the need for sustainable and innovative change is more crucial than ever before – and digitisation is key. But have you ever wondered who the minds are behind the latest technologies helping the nation; or how an initial, problem-solving idea becomes a reality, fully integrated into our healthcare system?

This month, the Havas Lynx Group hosted this year’s Media and Communications ‘Pit Stop’ event for the Clinical Entrepreneur Programme: a world-class initiative at the forefront of the NHS’s health-tech innovation scene. The programme, led by Professor Tony Young, upskills healthcare professionals to develop their ideas into businesses and services that will sustainably transform the NHS, as well as scaling them for potential overseas markets.

Scalable solutions, however, are not simply made overnight – especially in an era faced with tightening budgets and an ageing population. Tackling this, Indra Joshi (Digital Head and AI Clinical Lead at NHS England) advised on how to ensure digital health solutions are both clinically effective and economically valuable.

Two perfect examples – that are helping transform the NHS – are DIMEC and OurPath. Chris Turner was first up to share his story on founding DIMEC, an app for ordering repeat prescriptions. Next up was another Chris: Chris Edson. Having founded OurPath, a 3-month programme for living healthier, Chris now provides for the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.

Amongst the networking, Tuesday evening offered inspirational talks from Nick Ross (Broadcaster and Presenter) and Dr Anita Donley OBE (Chair of Mid and South Essex STP and Success Regime), as well as Adnan Raja, a Clinical Entrepreneur with a passion for making eye-opening films – including one for the NHS’s 70^thbirthday!

On the theme of story-telling and creativity, the Havas Lynx Group’s very own Vernon Bainton and Tapas Mukherjee took to the stage Wednesday, sharing insights on millennial HCPs and the impact we have on changing health outcomes. As examples, Paul Kinsella and Tim Jones enlightened the audience with the stories behind our latest award-winning Creative work and achieving Cannes Lion Health Agency of the year 2018.

From different perspectives, Adam Devey-Smith (Managing Partner of The One Off) certainly proved he was master of branding, covering everything from ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goals’ to brand archetypes, while Peter Coates (Head of Ecosystem Development at NHS Digital) educated the audience on Code for Health, building apps and testing ideas.

But it’s not just about apps. What about aeronautics and space tech? While Switzerland already uses drones to transport vaccines between two hospitals, Kathie Nothstine from Future Cities (Nesta) made it clear that the UK also has big plans to start drone testing.

With more from NHS England’s James Lyons and Beth Johnson on the ‘dos and don’ts’ of media, and Catherine Harulow on the world of DigitalHealth London, Wednesday was a wrap – and what an almighty one!