E17 - Live from Leeds, NICE health tech mandates, headsets for mental health

We're reflecting on the findings of the national commission on AI regulation and digging into the government's red flag rating on the NHS Frontline Productivity Programme. Plus, if your health tech org needs an autumn glow-up, find out how to overthrow the management and turn it into a holacracy. And the big news you've all been waiting for, where and when is the xmas party and "The Healthies" inaugural awards being held? Recorded live at the HETT Show 2026 where we were pegging delegates.

Welcome back from the summer break - you probably noticed a new administration has crept in the back door and got their feet under the table, and we haven’t talked about it much whilst we’ve been off having fun on our big Summer tour. So, we’re catching-up on the news of the last three months across key health tech themes like ambient scribes, the NHS app and virtual wards, plus the new PM and the great debacle of Palantir and the Federated Data Platform. Can’t say for sure whether any pigs were harmed in the making of this episode.

What is actually happening with the Neighbourhoods Programme? We've heard about it endlessly and it's constantly top of the agenda, but what changes can already be seen on the ground? What's been the impact on staff and patients so far? What's still to come and how clear is the execution plan? We're live at alternative conference AireFest26 in Leeds to investigate, and its the ideal opportunity to ban buzzphrases, policy speak and strategy gobbledy-gook to ask why will this work and how would you explain it in everyday Mum language? Joined by programme leads, digital activists, GPs and more, we're lifting the lid on the whole thing as well as blasting out everyone's favourite royalty-free cover music across the City from our rooftop podcast studio in the sun.

It's out! Grab a cup of tea and cookie - it's a special feature length episode as we drive to HLTH Europe, Amsterdam. Join a stellar cast from across the best of British health tech as we circumnavigate pirates, sailors, starlings, cyclists, mystery boxes and dutch pronunciation to reach our rustic bedroomless houseboat, throw a party with Digital Care, sail the River Amstel and attend Europe's largest health innovation event. It's been a year since our last visit - so what exactly has changed in the industry and, in the wake of recent seismic turbulence in the NHS, what are people's hopes and dreams for the next 12 months in health tech?

With Wes Streeting’s departure as Health and Social Care Secretary and the situation over Palantir’s access to patient records going nuclear, we’ve got a bumper episode for you. We’re joined by the HSJ to go back to the beginning with the Federated Data Platform debacle and, with agentic AI for health offers booming from all the big players, Director of Health Policy at the Tony Blair Institute, Dr Charlotte Refsum, talks about who’s controlling the front door to the NHS. Whilst the centre continues to wobble we look at how communities and peer groups are stepping up to lead the innovation charge. Plus, event season is here and, with Confed Expo, HLTH Europe and a trip to the seaside right around the corner, we have a lot to plan for.