WMHTIA: Driving Local Innovation to Meet Regional NHS Challenges

Medilink Midlands is excited to announce the second in a series of three WMHTIA Cluster Events taking place over the coming months. Focusing on driving Local Innovation to Meet Regional NHS Challenges in alignment with the NHS 3 Radical Shifts 10 year plan.

Event agenda

10:00 AM – 10:05 AM: Welcome & Housekeeping Opening remarks, event objectives, and how to make the most of the session.

10:05 AM – 10:25 AM: Insight 1 – Understanding Local Needs through Community-Level Data Presented by VUIT Data Labs: Discover how to identify and interpret place-based data to uncover unmet health needs at the community level and shape targeted interventions. Q&A: 10:25 – 10:30

10:30 AM – 10:50 AM: Insight 2 – Addressing Regional Health Priorities in the West Midlands Presented by Health Innovation West Midlands: Explore the biggest health challenges across the West Midlands, and how local businesses and innovators can engage with public sector needs to co-develop meaningful solutions. Learn how solving the specific, real-world challenges of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and regional trusts can drive more relevant and impactful innovation — shifting from national to hyper-local approaches. Q&A: 10:50 – 10:55

10:55 AM – 11:15 AM: Insight 3 – Partnerships as Catalysts for Hospital-to-Community Transformation Presented by Our Health Partnership (OHP): By leveraging scale, shared infrastructure, and data-driven referral pathways, OHP can empower GPs to act as local coordinators—reducing hospital demand while delivering more proactive, prevention-led care. Q&A: 11:15 – 11:20

11:20 AM – 11:30 AM: Open Networking Break An opportunity to connect, share experiences, and find collaborators with shared regional interests.

11:30 AM – 12:00 PM: Interactive Workshop – Tackling Community Health Challenges Through Innovation: Join a practical discussion on the barriers and opportunities for working at the community level — exploring key questions such as:

• How can innovators effectively engage with local systems?
• What strategies support trust-building and uptake at the community level?
• How can businesses co-design solutions with communities and health systems?

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM: Reflections & Closing Discussion Collective reflections, insight-sharing, and guidance on how to move forward with community-driven innovation in the NHS.

This event forms part of the West Midlands Health Tech Innovation Accelerator (WMHTIA) event series. Medilink Midlands are one of a consortium of delivery partners for the WMHTIA, a project funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Innovate UK and West Midlands Combined Authority (part of City Regions).