Sector Focus
The NHS should leave
events to the experts if
its transformation is to
succeed
UK healthcare trends
Words: Saul Leese & Olivia Powell
D
igging deep into the
UK Healthcare market,
it’s clear that the NHS has
somewhat of a monopoly
on the event sector. The
NHS Confederation, the
part of the NHS that is
partly responsible for
organising exhibitions,
has chosen to ignore the
benefits of working with an
experienced event organiser
and go it alone. Their first
move was not renewing
their agreement with Dods
Group, who ran the NHS
Innovation Show for them
for the past five years,
despite the event going
from 3-7,000 visitors. The
NHS Confederation has also
decided to merge their own
event, NHS Confed, held in
June, with NHS Innovation
Expo (September) to create
NHS Confed Expo 20, held
on 10-11 June at Manchester
Central.
Dods Group MD Stuart
King remains surprisingly
diplomatic despite losing
an important and credible
event in their healthcare
portfolio. This is probably
because they continue to
produce events for NHS
England, and he has a trick
up his sleeve planned to fill
the hole left by the NHS in
September. He said: “Now
that contract has come to an
end we are energetically and
enthusiastically engaged
in launching a new and
exciting event, the Festival
of Health which will take
The push for technology
adoption within the NHS
looks at how technology
ranging from video consultations
to apps can be implemented to ease
the demand on frontline healthcare
services. To drive this digital
transformation agenda, Matt Hancock,
Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care launched NHSX to ensure that
technology can be implemented by
creating a health tech mandate that
goes across the system.
Advanced therapy uses new medical
products like gene therapy, cell
therapy, and tissue engineering.
They can be used to treat
diseases or injuries, such as
in patients with Alzheimer's,
cancer or muscular dystrophy,
and have huge potential for
the future of medicine.
place in Manchester in
September 2020. We are
in advanced conversations
with a number of potential
supporters and partners
and are encouraged by the
overwhelmingly positive
response our plans have
received.”
The Festival of Health
tackles the healthcare
problem from a different
angle, bringing together
traditional NHS, clinical
and social care practitioners
with professionals from
housing, transport,
employment, education and
skills. It’s a smart move,
considering social, work
and environmental
There is a real shift towards
preventative medicine,
as both public and private
healthcare providers
recognise the need to
harness new technologies
to develop a more patient-
centric approach. AI
and remote monitoring
continue to the have the
most disruptive potential,
followed by wearables, IoT
(Internet of Things), virtual
reality, 3D printing,
blockchain, and
mHealth, which
refers to the use of
smart mobile
devices and
wearable
technologies
that collect health
and wellbeing data.
Personalised medicine
moves away from a ‘one
size fits all’ approach to
the treatment and care of
patients with a particular
condition, to one which uses
new approaches to better
manage patients’ health
and targets therapies to
achieve the best outcomes
in the management of a
patient’s disease or
predisposition
to disease.
December — 23