Digital Health Unplugged makes its long-awaited return with a brand new host, as junior news reporter Jordan Sollof sits down with the chief medical officer at NHS Digital, Professor Jonathan Benger.

Professor Benger reacts to receiving a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List for ‘services to the NHS’ and gives special thanks to his team whilst also previewing his keynote speaker session at Digital Health Rewired 2022.

He finishes the podcast by giving his hopes and predictions for the future in terms of digital transformation and integration in the NHS and looks ahead to what NHS Digital still want to achieve.

Earlier this month Digital Health News published a feature speculating about a national deal between NHS England and US electronic patient record (EPR) supplier Epic began to circulate. 

A decade on from the failed National Programme for IT, rumours of a national EPR deal undoubtedly sparked concern for some.

But what would a national deal with Epic look like, and what implications would that have for the NHS? Tune in to hear from our news team:

• Andrea Downey, senior reporter

Dione Rogers, CNIO Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and Holly Carr, Nurse, a nurse at Sheffield Children's Hospital and Florence Nightingale Fellow at NHSX, have both been diagnosed with dyslexia.

Through their diagnosis and interest in health technology, the two have formed a mentorship to support each other professionally and also personally. In this episode they share their story with host Andrea Downey, including how they use technology to manage their diaries, workload and out of the box thinking - something Carr likens to fireworks.

Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust have employed four design teams to look at the way tech is used, and received, by the end user.

The aim is to ensure all digital health tools rolled out across the trust are easy to use and provide what the end user, whether that be clinicians or patients, actually need.

Tune in to hear from:

• Helen Potter, head of pathways and EPR development, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Host Andrea Downey spoke to the interim chief executive of NHS Digital Simon Bolton about his goals for the organisation, building back after Covid-19 and recently set targets around diversity.

Bolton addresses the need for workforce resilience as the NHS recovers from the pandemic, adding that he wants to lead by example in creating a workplace where everyone feels valued and respected.

He also spoke about the need for better collaboration at the centre to streamline communications on digital strategies which he hopes will boost engagement from the frontline.

In this episode we take a look at diversity in digital leadership with the Shuri Network.

Hear from:

-Nicole Wong, Junior Technical Analyst, Cyber, NHS South, Central and West

In this episode we take a look at Amanda Pritchard's appointment as NHS England's new CEO - and the first female chief executive of NHS England.

Joining host Andrea Downey is:

As well as looking at the significance of digital transformation being in Pritchard's job description, the panel also speak about the significant step forward for female representation in the NHS.

Host Andrea Downey chats one-on-one with Liz O'Riordan, consultant breast surgeon and award-winning co-author of 'The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer: How to Feel Empowered and Take Control'.

O'Riordan speaks about her own breast cancer diagnosis in 2015 and her experience of the health system from a patient's perspective.

Despite her work as a breast cancer surgeon, O'Riordan said her experience in the consulting room hadn't prepared her for the experience of being a patient, adding that technology provided access to information when she needed it the most.

In this episode we take a look at the government's draft data strategy, Data Saves Lives: Reshaping health and care with data.

Tune in to hear more about the strategy from:

• David Hancock, Healthcare Executive Advisor, InterSystems

Our panel discuss what the strategy got right, what it got wrong, and what it was missing.

Queertech encompasses digital health tools that are designed to be inclusive of the LGBT+ community - both new tools and technology that's been around for a while.

Tune in to hear from:

• Brett Hatfield, NHS Navigator at the accelerator DigitalHealth.London