NICE speakers confirmed for Digital Health Summer Schools 2026

Two speakers from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) have been confirmed for Digital Health Summer Schools 2026.

Marie-Anne Ledingham, consultant clinical adviser at NICE, and Tharni Vasavan, horizon scanning senior health technologies lead at NICE, will discuss the expansion of their technology appraisals programme, which launched in February.

The programme will enable a small selection of high-impact technologies to be reimbursed and made available across the entire health service in the same way as medicines.

Ledingham and Vasavan will share insider knowledge on NICE’s National HealthTech Access Programme, and as well as the expansion of the technology appraisals programme to incorporate health technologies.

Two of the NHS’s largest caseload areas – capsule sponge tests for detecting oesophageal cancer and AI tools for identifying prostate and breast cancer – are the first to enter the programme, but more will follow.

Summer Schools 2026 is the premier learning and networking event for digital health leaders. The two-day conference takes place at the University of Nottingham on 16-17 July.

It has a revamped format this year which doubles down on small-group and interactive sessions to provide attendees with more practical insights and deeper knowledge exchange.

Professor Katherin Cresswell, professor of digital innovation in health and care at the University of Edinburgh, was one of the first speakers confirmed for the event.

Attendees will also hear from three senior digital leaders shaping and delivering large-scale NHS transformation:

• Andy Callow, chief digital and information officer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust
• Hayley Grafton, group chief nursing information officer (CNIO) at University Hospitals of Leicester and Northamptonshire and chair of the Digital Health Networks CNIO Advisory Panel
• Dr Penny Kechagioglou, chief clinical information officer (CCIO) at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust and chair of the Digital Health Networks CCIO Advisory Panel

The social programme includes a pre-event BBQ and middle-night dinner, where the winners of the Digital Health Awards will be revealed and the top-ranking person of the inaugural Digital Health Impact List will be honoured.

Summer Schools is exclusively for members of the Digital Health Networks, the UK’s largest health IT community. It is open to current and aspiring digital health leaders.

The event is supported by Networks sponsors Altera, AWS, CereCore, Dell Technologies and AMD, Imprivata, InterSystems, Microsoft, Salesforce.

Prices start from £399 +VAT. Twenty percent group discounts are available for groups of four or more attendees, with spaces limited. Secure your place today and register here.