First national keynotes announced for Rewired 2026
- 9 October 2025
- Three national clinical leaders driving the digital ambitions of the NHS 10 year health plan will take the stage at Digital Health Rewired 2026
- NHS England's chief officers Dr Minal Bakhai, Dr Alec Price-Forbes and Helen Balsdon will speak at the event in Birmingham on 24-25 March
- Rewired 2026 will expand its focus on AI and data with twin stages exploring use across health and care
Three national clinical leaders driving the digital ambitions of the NHS 10 year health plan will take the stage at Digital Health Rewired 2026.
Dr Minal Bakhai, Dr Alec Price-Forbes, and Helen Balsdon will all speak at the event taking place on 24-25 March 2026 at the NEC in Birmingham.
Bakhai is the director for primary care and community transformation and improvement at NHS England.
As senior responsible officer for the National Neighbourhood Implementation Programme, she will share national insights on the shift towards digitally enabled neighbourhood health.
Price-Forbes, national chief clinical information officer for England, holds the national brief for supporting the clinical community to improve patient care through digital and data tools.
With shared care records, AI, and interoperability at the heart of the health service’s digital transformation, he will outline where the national priorities lie.
Helen Balsdon, national chief nursing information officer is leading England’s nursing professional into the next era of digital health.
In her role, she will navigate the future demands of digital nurses, such as developing ‘genomics champions’, advancing clinical safety and realising the benefits of AI tools.
Other speakers confirmed for Rewired 2026 include Dr Charlotte Refsum, director of health policy at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change; Jonathan Brotherton, chief executive at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; and Rachel Power, chief executive at The Patients Association.
Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation, Hutan Ashrafian, chief medical officer at Harbinger Health, Professor Ben Goldacre, director of the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science, and Professor Gillian Leng, president of the Royal Society of Medicine, will also be part of the speaker line-up.
Rewired 2026 headline sponsors are The Access Group and Optum, who also sponsor the Integrated Care and Digital Transformation stages respectively.
In 2026, the event will expand its focus on AI and data with twin stages exploring all aspects of their use across health and care.
Register your place now to hear from NHS England’s chief officers at a pivotal moment for the NHS’ shift to community, digitisation and prevention.
Free for NHS, public sector, charities, education and research. Commercial tickets start from £769+VAT.
