Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

👇 News

🚺 Women in the UK can now access a non-invasive, innovative solution for pelvic health and incontinence through the NHS. Elitone, designed by US medical device manufacturer Elidah, is available across 217 NHS trusts, following a partnership between Elidah and the NHS. The external pelvic floor therapy device does not involve exercises or require invasive treatment. 

🧠 Charity Mental Health Innovations has launched an online mental health service for young people called The Mix. The platform, which was co-designed in conjunction with young people, offers a suite of online services including content, community, coaching and crisis support, to help them navigate life’s challenges, build resilience and prevent issues from progressing.

🍎 Severely obese children are being supported to lose weight and live healthier lifestyles through the roll-out of specialist NHS clinics and digital “smart scale” technology. The initiative is being piloted at 15 ‘Complications from Excess Weight’ clinics. Around 350 patients and their families are already using the technology, which consists of smart scales for home use that connect to a mobile app to visually display the direction of weight management without displaying the specific numbers.

🚀 London-based health tech company Hexarad has been labelled one of the UK’s most exciting tech scale-ups by Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Tech Nation Future Fifty programme is designed to fuel the growth of the UK’s most ambitious late-stage tech ventures. Hexarad is the only dedicated healthcare technology company in the cohort. The company hopes to transform radiology with its AI-driven technology platform designed to increase efficiency, reduce administrative burden on clinicians and cut outsourcing costs. 

🌳 Newham Hospital has secured more than £13 million in government funding to become more energy efficient. The improvements will help cut energy bills and create a more comfortable environment for patients and staff. The funding, awarded through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, will support a range of energy efficiency and renewable energy generation projects. The scheme is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and delivered by Salix.  

❓Did you know?

Nearly a third of patients say their health deteriorated because they couldn’t see a doctor or specialist in time, according to a report by technology company Philips.

The Philips Future Health Index 2025 comprised insights from 16,000 patients and 1,900 health care professionals (HCPs) across 16 countries. It found that one in four patients end up in hospital as a result of delays, with the average global wait time to see a specialist now standing at 70 days.

It also found that 77% of HCPs report losing clinical time due to inaccessible patient data. Nearly half of clinicians say slow AI adoption is contributing to missed early interventions (46%), worsening burnout (46%) and deepening patient backlogs (42%).

The report warns that without rapid acceleration of AI in healthcare, millions may be left without timely care, and calls for health leaders to work together to “close the AI trust gap.”

📖 What we’re reading

The ‘DigitalHealth.London UK Shared Prosperity Fund evaluation 2023–25‘ offers a detailed review of the organisation’s business support programme, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Delivered between April 2023 and March 2025, the programme has supported more than 220 digital health companies and early-stage entrepreneurs across London, aiming to accelerate the development, evidence generation and adoption of high-potential technologies.

The evaluation finds that access to NHS Navigators and subject matter experts played a key role in helping innovators build knowledge, form partnerships and understand routes into health and care systems. In-person sessions and peer networks were also seen as valuable for knowledge sharing and practical support, contributing to new products being launched and adopted.

While the report highlights strong overall performance, it also identifies areas for development. These include expanding commercial support within the programme, strengthening alumni engagement to enable further collaboration and replicating successful partnerships like its one with charity CW+ to extend local value.

🚨 Upcoming events

2–7 June, London — SXSW London