Digital Ecology Podcast

In this episode I speak with Pritesh Mistry, Fellow at the King's Fund, about the recent shifts and future direction of digital health in the NHS. We touch on the major developments of 2025, including structural changes, EPR rollout, and the launch of NHS Online. Pritesh highlights the NHS AI Ambassadors Group as a positive force for building skills and celebrating success in digital transformatio...

In this episode, I speak with Paul Taylor about the realities of digital transformation across health and social care, with a focus on how technology is adopted within the NHS and related sectors. Our conversation is rooted in Paul’s reflections on a blog he wrote critiquing digital transformation. Notably, his suggestion that “digital transformation was never about digital and rarely about transf...

In this episode, I speak with Dr Sarah Crossland about the role of failure in digital health innovation. Sarah is a lecturer in medical engineering at the University of Hull and a practising clinician specialising in orthotics. We first met at a conference focused on human factors in digital innovation, where Sarah gave a memorable talk about failure and its importance in the innovation process. D...

In this episode I speak with Dr Lili Golmohammadi and Emelia Delaney, both research associates at King’s Health Partners Digital Health Hub. Lili and Emelia come from design backgrounds but with experience in different sectors; from eco design and engineering to fashion and sustainability, and have now found themselves working in digital health for the first time. We discuss their journeys into di...

In this episode I speak with Hatim Abdulhussein about the NHS’s new Ten Year Plan and what it means for digital transformation, innovation, and workforce development. Hatim is a practicing GP, CEO of Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, and Honorary Professor of Innovation and AI at the University of Surrey.  We begin with Hatim’s career journey, from his early experiences with digital syste...

In this episode I speak with Dr Helen Hughes, Associate Professor of Organizational Psychology at the University of Leeds and Director of the Behaviour Lab at Leeds Business School. Helen’s work focuses on the human side of systems, particularly how people think, feel and behave in complex environments such as healthcare and engineering. We discuss what ‘human factors’ means as a discipline and it...

In this episode I speak with Rochelle Gold, Head of User Research at NHS England. Rochelle’s background spans research in health, social care, and digital technology, and we explore the evolving role of user research and user-centred design in the NHS, both on a national scale and at the local level. Rochelle shares what her main role involves, from setting standards and policy for ethical and saf...

In this episode, I sit down with Ivor Williams, a designer with a background in both UX and product design with a focus on mortality and end of life care. Ivor brings a unique perspective to design in healthcare with his experience spanning academia, startups, and current independent venture,  Delving into his work at Imperial College with palliative and end of life care projects. We talked a...

In this episode, I sit down with Greg Burch, a specialty doctor in the emergency department and co-founder of Tiny Medical Apps. Greg has been working in clinical settings for many years and shares his journey into the world of digital health innovation. Greg's professional background and the inception of Tiny Medical Apps, an app designed to support young individuals in managing their health cond...

In this episode, I speak with Hayley Grafton, the Chief Nursing Information Officer at University Hospitals Leicester, and Lindsay Lewis, a master’s student in Service Design at the University of the Arts, London. We discuss their collaborative project focusing on medication management, which is part of Lindsay's Master's degree project. Delving into the use of personas to improve user engagement...

In this episode, I speak with Douglas Hamandishe about the challenges and potential innovations within the NHS. Douglas brings a wealth of experience and a diverse background, including roles as a mental health nurse, CCIO, broadcaster, creative director, and local councillor. His insights are deepened by an engineering background and his practical, hands-on understanding of healthcare systems. Do...

In this episode, I speak with Matt Boazman, the Chief Executive of Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital, about the evolving landscape of digital transformation in healthcare, focusing particularly on the crucial role of third sector organisations in engaging diverse communities. Matt, who brings a wealth of experience from his position at a prominent healthcare trust, delves into the intrica...

In this episode of Digital Ecology, I speak with Aahuti Rai, a remarkable voice and advocate for women's health and a proponent for sustainable innovation in digital health. Aahuti shares with us her extensive experience in digital transformation across different sectors before focusing her expertise exclusively on health tech.  With Aahuti's background in large multinational corporations, sh...

In this episode of Digital Ecology, I have the pleasure of speaking with Natalie Hayes, the Chief Nursing Information Officer in a large acute trust in the Northwest. Our conversation centres on the impact of technology on nursing in the NHS and Natalie's experiences advocating for nurses in the digital transformation space. Natalie has been in her role for three years and describes it as being an...

In this episode of Digital Ecology, I delve into the dynamic world of digital health alongside my guest, Jenny Chong, a non-executive director at an NHS Trust. Our discussion traverses the myriad challenges, opportunities, and critical areas within the digital health sector, drawing from our personal experiences and insights. We kick off the conversation by sharing our personal hurdles in seeking...

In this episode of Digital Ecology, I speak with guest Jo Robinson, Professor and Head of Suicide Research at Orygen, a leading youth mental health service in Melbourne, Australia. Jo Robinson leads research programs on suicide prevention, specifically focusing on reducing suicide risk among young people. Our conversation centres around Jo's work with the CHATsafe intervention, a project focused o...

In this episode of Digital Ecology, host Victoria Betton is joined by Kayikunmi 'Kay' Sogo, a senior product manager specialising in product management and user research.  Kay emphasises the importance of discovery, assumption testing and working with cross-functional teams to build software.  Kay reflects on a recent decision-making process regarding a content management system (CMS) an...

In today's episode of Digital Ecology, I chat with James Freed, a seasoned expert in digital health. We kick off by diving into James's eclectic career journey—starting from biochemistry and oncology, pivoting into NHS cancer services, and finally making waves in digital health. He offers wisdom on the essence of change management and even shares a personal story abou...

In this episode Sam Shah and I converse on the topic of complexity in digital health, the tendency to tip into chaos and the fact that things are rarely just complicated. Sam is a well known figure in digital health. In addition to his practice as a dentist, he's chief medical officer at Numan, senior adviser at Freuds, visiting lecturer at UCL and has a host of other roles besides. Sam refle...

In the first of my second series of the Digital Ecology podcast I host a panel conversation about the role of simulation in healthcare professional training and how it applies to all stages of design, development and implementation of digital technologies in the NHS. I'm joined by James Woollard, a child psychiatrist and chief clinical information officer along with Wendy Chapman and Kit Huckvale...

Is it possible to innovate in the NHS? Spoiler alert - Charlotte convinced me that the answer is yes. Charlotte is an innovation dynamo - starting life as a volunteer in the NHS, she now leads on innovation for one of the largest acute NHS trusts in the country. In the final episode of the series, Charlotte shares her personal journey and how she found a niche, creating the conditions which enable...

In this episode I chat all things user-centred design with Toby Avery, chief digital information officer at Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Toby shares the story of how an idea and an experiment with design has turned into a trust wide approach to designing for the outcome with multi-disciplinary fusion teams. Toby and his team have gone as far as designing SystmOne user inter...

In this episode Anne Cooper and I chat about the relationship between quality improvement and digital transformation. Anne tells me about her Minerva programme, building the leadership skills of women working in digital health. I first met Anne when she was chief nurse at NHS Digital and she is now a non-executive director at an ambulance NHS trust as well as the chair of Ethical Healthcare Consul...

In this episode I interview Tracey Watson about her research into the role of user-centred design in NHS digital transformation. With a previous role directing industry partnerships and engagement for the NHS, Tracey now leads digital transformation for the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust. During our conversation,Tracey shares her not so usual pre-NHS background and goes on to talk thr...

In this episode I continue my interview with Thomas Webb, founder and CEO of Ethical Healthcare Consulting. Thomas shares his thoughts about the current state of the electronic patient record market and why he believes we are on the cusp of some big changes. He makes the case for open source, open standards and investing in the community of people trying to accelerate this new approach to the core...