Friday 23 May 2025
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Dear colleagues,
In March, the Government announced major changes to NHS leadership and structure, including the integration of NHS England into the Department of Health and Social Care. A new NHS Transformation Executive Team and Integration Programme Board are shaping the transition, and we are actively contributing to this work.
While change can bring uncertainty, we continue with business as usual. Our focus remains on delivering high-quality scientific services and introducing technological innovation to support the best outcomes for patients and the public. The integration aligns with the Government’s vision for a future-ready NHS, centred on three strategic shifts: from analogue to digital, from sickness to prevention, and from hospital to community-based care.
This vision was echoed in the recent series of healthcare science business events, where we joined colleagues across all 7 regions and at NHS Blood and Transplant. The events showcased impactful presentations, strategic leadership and workforce development, and highlighted healthcare scientists driving real change.
In April, we co-hosted two virtual roundtables with the Department of Health and Social Care, exploring how healthcare science can drive the three strategic shifts. Stakeholders from NHS England, NHS senior scientific leaders, Academy for Healthcare Science, and professional bodies contributed, with outputs informing the NHS 10-Year Health Plan. We have also contributed to shaping the National Cancer Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan, ensuring that the voice of healthcare science is represented in these critical strategies.
Looking ahead, I’m excited to participate in NHS ConfedExpo on 11–12 June in Manchester. Sessions will explore how research, science, and innovation can meet evolving population needs, aligned with the forthcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan and Life Sciences Sector Plan.
As the NHS continues to evolve, your expertise and commitment remain vital as we shape a scientifically led, patient-focused healthcare system.
Best wishes,
Professor Dame Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England
We’d love to hear from you! If you have news, achievements or innovations you’d like to see featured in future issues, get in touch with us at england.cso@nhs.net. We’d love your support in sharing this bulletin more widely, by sharing the sign up link with your colleagues and teams.
Celebrating healthcare scientists: MBE Honours awarded
Congratulations to Ruth Thomsen MBE and Dr Kerrie Davies MBE who recently received an MBE for services to healthcare science at ceremonies in Windsor Castle.
Audiologist Ruth, NHS England’s Regional Lead Healthcare Scientist (London) said:
“Receiving an MBE is an incredible honour and a call for reflection. As Regional Lead Healthcare Scientist I’m privileged to work with patients, multidisciplinary teams, and system leaders to improve healthcare across London. This role brings me joy, and being able to raise the profile of healthcare scientists through this recognition means so much. Being invested by Princess Anne at Windsor Castle, surrounded by family, was truly magical. I’m reminded of the phrase, “on the shoulders of giants.” Healthcare scientists you are inspiring - thank you"
Microbiologist Kerrie, Principal Clinical Scientist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Lead Scientific Advisor for the Technologies Validation Group at the Health Security Agency, and Senior Scientific Advisor for the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer, NHS England said:
"I feel truly honoured to have been presented with this award, but recognise the efforts that all healthcare scientists make every day in the NHS and hope this raises our profile as a workforce. It was a wonderful day, the weather was amazing, and the castle is breathtaking. My award was presented by HRH Prince William, and we had a good chat about the need for accurate tests for COVID-19, the difficulties of antimicrobial resistance, and the need for better tests in the NHS.”
Nominate a colleague for a future honour! To celebrate the outstanding contributions of our healthcare scientists, we strongly encourage you to nominate a deserving colleague for a national Honour. For nominations please complete the government honours form and submit it to england.cso@nhs.net.
A spotlight on...clinical engineering
Reimagining patient care with 3D technologies: A multidisciplinary opportunity
Prawin Samraj, Clinical Engineering Team Manager at Northern Care Alliance presented to the CSO Clinical Engineers Network last month, showcasing how 3D planning and printing is transforming patient care across multiple specialities - from orthopaedics and ENT to anaesthetics, radiology, and medical physics. Using routine CT/MRI data, teams can now generate patient-specific anatomical models, surgical guides, and simulation tools to improve visualisation, reduce risks, and enhance decision-making.
Case examples included preventing failed intubations in patients with complex airways and creating prone surgical supports that saves the trust over £75k annually. Clinical engineering teams are uniquely positioned to lead this work, bridging technical, clinical and regulatory expertise. However, uptake remains limited across the NHS.
Prawin’s presentation called for trust-wide services, rather than siloed pilots and introduced a free 3D technologies workshop to help teams implement safe, scalable 3D solutions. The message was clear: 3D technologies are ready, and every discipline has a role in bringing them to life. More information on this workshop, including details on how to register, can be found further down this bulletin.
This video showcases how the technology is being used in Salford to benefit patients: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x98GTuJcF8
Pictured below: Overview of 3D printing process
Latest updates
Innovation, inspiration, and impact: Highlights from the 8 healthcare science business events
All 8 Healthcare science business events, spanning the NHS 7 regions and NHS Blood and Transplant are complete. Each event was a great success, offering a well-organised platform for networking, collaboration, and knowledge sharing.
Professor Dame Sue Hill, Chief Scientific Officer joined every region to outline her key priorities, engage directly with healthcare scientists and leaders, and celebrate achievements through local award ceremonies.
Attendees also had the chance to hear from a range of inspiring projects and dedicated scientists showcasing their remarkable innovations. Strategic shifts in healthcare science, workforce planning, and the future of the profession were actively discussed.
A huge thank you to everyone involved - we look forward to building on this momentum in future events!
Enhancing AI knowledge, promoting best practice - The AI Knowledge Repository is now live!
The NHS AI team aims to embed responsible, ethical and sustainable AI into NHS services to improve patient care, optimise resources, and empower NHS staff.
The AI knowledge repository will help enable this by providing a suite of resources for all working within health and social care, which will enhance knowledge of AI and promote best practice. Resources are divided into sections matched to where users might be in their AI journey, be it Understanding AI, Developing AI, AI in Practice or the Spread and Scale of AI. The repository also hosts a comprehensive set of case studies https://digital.nhs.uk/services/ai-knowledge-repository.
Transforming healthcare through NHS data
This Spring, our 'Powered by Data' initiative is sharing remarkable stories showing how NHS data is revolutionising healthcare. Examples include Clean Air Zones protecting children from asthma, personalised diabetes support programmes, early Parkinson's detection through eye scans, and Sir Stephen Fry championing prostate cancer research.
Each story represents how data-driven innovations are making healthcare more effective and personalised for patients across the country. Find out more about how NHS data is helping to improve patient care #PoweredByNHSData
Sullivan review: process change for re-assigning gender and sex identity in medical records
An independent review published by Professor Alice Sullivan that looked at data, statistics and research on sex and gender has identified a serious safeguarding risk in the current process of re-assigning gender and sex identity in medical records for children and young people.
All healthcare professionals should be aware that in response to the review, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has directed that the process for changing NHS numbers and gender markers for children and young people under 18 is stopped with immediate effect.
NHS ConfedExpo 2025 agenda now live: book your pass today!
Join over 5,000 peers and system partners at NHS ConfedExpo, the UK’s leading health and care conference, on 11 and 12 June 2025 at Manchester Central.
Professor Dame Sue Hill will be present and talk about three strategic shifts to benefit patients, and the Generation Study, a world-leading genomic study in NHS hospitals that aims to screen thousands of newborns in England to benefit babies with rare disease.
Take a look at the agenda, and choose from over 170 sessions. This is a unique opportunity to hear from exceptional speakers, highlight the essential role of healthcare science and explore the transformative work happening across the system. Book your pass today. NHS, local authority and wider public sector staff are eligible for a free ticket.
Spotlight on antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
Launch of new UKHSA AMR campaign
On Monday 7 April, UKHSA launched its new campaign focused on antimicrobial resistance. It aims to re-engage the public with AMR and explain how to use antibiotics responsibly.
To deliver this message UKHSA has created a new mascot, Andi Biotic, an anthropomorphic life size pill who is on a mission to spread the word about the importance of antibiotics and of using them correctly, so we can keep antibiotics working. A variety of print and digital assets for all settings, communities and patients can be found here.
New AMR prescribing improvement schemes for primary care
Six new antibiotic prescribing improvement schemes are available to help primary care teams and ICBs carry out quality improvement work at local level. The schemes are not mandatory and don’t come with new funding, but are aligned to national priorities and fully adaptable. Covering a wide range of topics, from acute cough and respiratory tract infection in children to recurrent urinary tract infection, these schemes aim to improve patient outcomes in 2025/26 or support planning for 2026/27, including improving patients’ experience and access to general practice.
Learn more on the FutureNHS AMR Programme workspace (sign-in required).
Digital vision for antimicrobial stewardship
Tackling the challenge of AMR needs a coordinated approach across healthcare settings. Understanding the role of digital systems in healthcare professional-patient interactions where antimicrobials are prescribed – and how digital systems can support good practice – is critical to success. Developed in consultation with clinical staff, this new guidance outlines how users and commissioners of clinical digital systems can support optimal antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) within their organisations.
This document should be read alongside the Digital framework for antimicrobial stewardship, ‘what good looks like’, which sets out an organisational and system approach to ensuring good digital functionality for antimicrobial stewardship.
Resources and news from NHS England and our partners
Free 3D printing workshop
To help bridge the confidence gap, Northern Care Alliance Trust are offering a free, one-day workshop for NHS colleagues who want to explore how to set up a safe, affordable, and regulation-ready 3D service. The session will cover:
- CT/MRI segmentation using both open-source and licensed tools
- Best practices and regulatory requirements for integrating 3D into clinical pathways
- Build-vs-buy options for printers, software and materials
- Real NHS case studies from airway planning, spinal surgery, equipment spares, and more
Updates from the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
HCPC Partner recruitment
The HCPC are seeking registered health and care professionals to undertake the role of Registration Assessor in the following professions: Clinical scientists (embryology, decontamination science and clinical bioinformatics), dietitians, hearing aid dispensers, paramedics, physiotherapists, psychologists (sport and exercise), or radiographers (diagnostic).
For more information, please visit the HCPC website. All applications must be submitted via recruitment website by Friday 30 May at 1pm. For information on HCPC partners and partner roles please also visit the HCPC webpage.
New Health and Care Professions Council Data Hub
As the UK’s largest multi-profession health regulator, the HCPC holds unique data on the shape of the health and care workforce. For the first time, employers, professional bodies, unions, policy makers and the public can access key data about different professions, registrants’ characteristics and locations. The hub is an interactive tool which allows users to fully explore data in their own time
National Education and Training Survey 2024 results now available
The results of the National Education and Training Survey (NETS) 2024 are now available.
NETS is the only national survey of learners across all healthcare education and training settings, providing valuable insights into their experiences. We work regionally and nationally with education and placement providers to monitor the quality of the education and training taking place within healthcare learning environments for all our healthcare learners.
With this year seeing the highest response rate since NETS opened in 2019, the NETS results provide critical insights into the quality of the learning environment from the perspective of the learners.
Healthcare science Very Senior Leadership Programme
On 1 May 2025 the Academy for Healthcare Science celebrated the successful completion of the Very Senior Leadership Development Programme for healthcare scientists.
The programme was designed to increase participants knowledge and skills in the following four areas: effective systems leadership, personal leadership effectiveness, scientific leadership and the ability to positively influence change and innovation. The programme consisted of a leadership course, accompanied by a seminar series and meetings with key people within the NHS and other related organisations.
Following the end of the programme, a selection of case studies were presented which demonstrated some of the insights gained from the programme and the positive impact healthcare scientists can make in improving patient care.
Pictured left to right: Dr Didi (Emmanuel) Akinluyi, Dr Victoria Chalker, Dr Joy Tweed, Dr Kirsty Gordon and Dr Kimberly Gilmour.
Clinical Trial of Investigational Medicinal Product (CTIMP) authorised professionals
The UK clinical trial legislation is being revised (The Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) (Amendment) Regulations 2024) and is moving through the parliamentary process. Once signed into law there will be a year-long implementation period before the revised regulations become effective. This is expected to be in Spring 2026.
Under the revised regulations, the investigator, in relation to a clinical trial, shall be a healthcare professional who is appropriately trained to undertake that role in a clinical trial. With that in mind you may find some of the courses offered by the National Institute for Health and Care Research to be of use (Clinical research courses and support | NIHR).
Support to NHS people going through menopause
It’s important that we support our NHS people going through menopause at work and that we continue our work on improving the experience of those who experience symptoms. We are committed to breaking the stigma around menopause in the workplace and there are a number of resources available on our retention hub that help raise awareness, improve workplace environments, and support line managers to help staff experiencing the menopause or those indirectly affected.
Colleagues also have access to a menopause awareness session give learners a better understanding of what the menopause is and the menopause futures site that includes links to discussion forums and best practice examples. For more information about the programme please contact england.lookingafterourpeople@nhs.net.
Dates for your diary
4 June, Understanding Ambient voice technologies (AVT), evaluating AVT, AI and Human factors and more - The AI Ambassador Network meeting, 10.30am-12pm. Speakers include: George Onisiforou, NHS England AI team, Dr Mayur Vibhuti, Kent and Medway ICB and Ivan Iorga, North East London NHS Foundation Trust. Join the AI Ambassador Network, to register for the meeting.
11 and 12 June, NHS Confed Expo, Manchester. Book your place today