Co-design for Digital Health

Digital health has the potential to improve people's health and well-being and to enhance efficiency across health and social care. But for innovation to be successful, the right partnership is essential, with people and communities at the heart of the process.

This day of events provides a platform to gain insights into the key challenges across health and care for which digital technology may provide the solution. We’ll also explore approaches to co-creation with an interactive design thinking workshop in the afternoon, responding in real time to some of the opportunities and insights described in the morning.

This event is intended for health and social care professionals, academics and people working in industry.

Event schedule

09:00 - 09:25 - Coffee and registration

09:25 - 09:35 - Opening (Professor Richard Luxton, Director of UWE Health Tech Hub, and Professor Matt Freeman, Director of Future Space)

09:35 - 09:50 - Welcome (Steve West, Vice-Chancellor of UWE and Chair of Health Innovation West of England)

09:50 - 10:10 - Opportunities for digital health in secondary care (Professor Sanjoy Shah, Deputy Chief Medical Officer at North Bristol NHS Trust and Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust)

10:10 - 10:25 - Innovation case study: Clera Healthcare – Founders Dr Alice Appleton and Dr Jonathon Abeles

10:25 - 10:35 - Q&As

10:35 - 11:00 - Break and refreshments (tea and coffee)

11:00 - 11:20 - Opportunities for digital health in community care (Scott Deacon, Head of Innovation, Sirona Care & Health)

11:20 - 11:35 - Innovation case study: BABCON - Director Nikki Cotterill, Professor of Nursing in Continence Care, UWE

11:35 - 11:45 - Q&As

11:45 - 12:05 - Opportunities for digital health in primary care (Rhys Lewis, Head of Digital, One Care)

12:05 - 12:20 - Innovation case study: Cognitant – Daisy Allington, Chief Operating Officer

12:20 - 12:30 - Q&As

12:30 - 13:30 - Lunch

13:30 - 16:00 - Design thinking workshop with Health Innovation West of England

16:00 - Closing comments (Professor Richard Luxton)

About the event

Design thinking workshop with Health Innovation West of England

During the morning we’ll crowdsource a framing question or challenge around how we use digital health technologies. Then in this interactive afternoon workshop we’ll tackle it collectively.

Led by experienced facilitators from Health Innovation West of England’s Academy, we’ll be introduced to codesign techniques from the Creative Problem-Solving Toolkit to generate ideas. We’ll also explore how to decide which ideas to progress as tests of change and how to refine and prototype these.

Booking a space

This is an in-person event

Co-design for Digital Health is delivered by the Health Tech Hub, UWE Bristol and Health Innovation West of England and kindly supported by Future Space

Festival of Digital Health 

The Festival of Digital Health runs from Monday 30 June - Friday 4 July 2025. Taking place across the South West of England and Wales, it will be a dynamic week of events, showcasing how digital technologies are transforming the way we think about, deliver, and experience health and care.

Whether you’re a digital health professional, a healthcare provider, a researcher, a tech enthusiast, or simply curious about how technology is shaping the future of care — this festival is for you. 

In-person events will take place in Bath, Bristol, Cardiff and Exeter. For the full programme please visit: Festival of Digital Health programme