Applications open on Monday 27 February for five weeks. The deadline for companies to apply is 23:59 Monday 3 April 2023. For companies offered a place on the programme, support will begin in June.
DigitalHealth.London has opened applications to our flagship Accelerator programme for the next generation of digital health companies to transform health and care. Digital innovations are a vital tool in tackling the challenges facing the NHS and social care, such as supporting the workforce, addressing health inequalities and delivering a net zero NHS. The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator aims to speed up the adoption of technology in London’s NHS, relieving high pressure on services and empowering patients to manage their health.
Now in its seventh consecutive year, the NHS-delivered programme, has supported 143 of the biggest and most effective digital innovations now being used by the NHS and social care, and many scaling globally. Examples include Huma, DrDoctor, Peppy Health, eConsult, Echo, AccuRx and HN. Over 600 additional contracts have been signed by companies during Accelerator support and the programme was also named Accelerator of the Year at the UKBAA Angel Investment Awards 2022.
DigitalHealth.London is passionate about the importance of diversity and inclusion in the long-term success of innovation and transformation within the NHS. We continue to work to ensure the Accelerator programme is diverse and are particularly keen to encourage innovators who identify as being from a minority group to apply to the programme.
Sara Nelson, Programme Director at DigitalHealth.London, said: “We are extremely proud of the companies we have worked with over the past six years and the impact they’ve had. Today we are excited to accept applications for the next cohort of innovators to join our Accelerator programme. With the growing need for safe and effective digital innovations, in areas such as rehabilitation, long term condition management and virtual monitoring, we are looking to support digital health companies at the forefront of innovation to bring solutions to the NHS staff and patients who need them.”
Dr. Chris Streather, Regional Medical Director and Chief Clinical Information Officer for NHS England, London Region, said,“DigitalHealth.London exemplifies the way AHSNs and local partners can work together to support innovators and the NHS across a region. The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme provides a fantastic opportunity for companies on the forefront of healthcare innovation to gain insight into the inner workings of the NHS and how best to work with healthcare organisations to bring their products and services to the people that need them. The Accelerator works to strengthen local entrepreneurial ecosystems and to support diverse founders to collaborate with the NHS, in turn allowing them to successfully scale and drive economic growth in London and Nationally.”
Rishi Das Gupta, CEO of the Health Innovation Network, said, “The DigitalHealth.London programme has been a great platform for companies to accelerate the spread of products with real potential to improve health outcomes for patients and make work easier for health and care staff. The Health Innovation Network is proud to run DigitalHealth.London and the Accelerator, which is one of the leading programmes for digital health companies in Europe. We are grateful to all our partners and collaborators for their support and especially to the Office for Life Sciences for funding which supports our ongoing activity to help innovators.”
Chris Chaney, Chief Executive of CW+, said, “We have worked closely to support previous cohorts of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme. This has helped us to establish connections with companies at the forefront of digital health innovation and since 2016, approximately 15% of companies in the first five cohorts of the Accelerator have been adopted by Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – the highest adoption of Accelerator companies by a single Trust. The partnership has helped us grow CW Innovation and become one of the leading sites for the adoption of digital innovations to improve patient care and experience.”
Anas Nader, Co-Founder, Patchwork Health, Accelerator programme 2019-20, said, “We’re so proud of how widely our technology has already been embraced across the NHS and the impact we’re having on the lives of thousands of clinicians. We were delighted to join the 2019-20 cohort of DigitalHealth.London’s Accelerator, a brilliant programme speeding up adoption of digital health innovations in the NHS. The programme has provided us with opportunities to connect with industry experts as well as other healthtech innovators. I’d encourage companies like ours with good ideas and big ambitions to apply.”
Ross O’Brien, Managing Director of WYSA, Accelerator programme 2022, said “We’ve had access to the leaders in the NHS and been able to showcase what we can offer to change lives and make clinicians lives easier. The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator has created a network we will remain connected to far beyond this year. I learnt the value and importance of our story as clinicians and service users and how to communicate this. I met other amazing innovators and was able to trade skills and ideas in a community of learning.”
The programme is for digital health companies with a product or service that has high potential to meet the challenges facing the NHS and social care today. It provides companies with bespoke support and advice through a team of specialist NHS Navigators, a programme of expert-led workshops and events, and brokers meaningful connections between innovators and NHS organisations with specific challenges. The companies that are successful in getting onto the Accelerator programme are chosen through a rigorous and highly competitive selection process, involving expert NHS and industry panel assessments, interviews and due diligence checks. Companies successful in gaining a place on the programme usually have a product or service that is already in use in the NHS and is ready to scale. Company suitability is assessed based on company maturity, product potential (meaning products that have high potential to meet NHS challenges) and on the company’s capacity to benefit from the programme (meaning companies have enough time and staff to engage).
About DigitalHealth.London
DigitalHealth.London connects NHS staff, digital health companies and academics, and equips them to improve the NHS and social care in London through digital technology.
