Insights from our 2025 Healthcare Innovation Symposium
Access the full panel session recordings from our recent Healthcare Innovation Symposium
This year’s event brought together clinicians, innovators, researchers, and industry partners to explore how pioneering ideas can be translated into scalable, real‑world solutions - delivering tangible impact across the NHS and on a global stage.
Whether you joined us on the day or are catching up now, explore the panel session recordings below to hear key insights, practical perspectives, and takeaways from each discussion.
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From Idea to Impact: Creating and Positioning Healthcare Innovations for Success
Chair: Nicola McMillan (Scottish Enterprise)
Panelists: Becky Cotton, Dr Stuart Hannah, Dr Chris Walsh, Dr Laurence Tan
In our opening panel, Nicola McMillan and an expert group of innovators, clinicians, and investors shared candid, practical insights on what it really takes to move healthcare innovation from concept to adoption.
The discussion focused on common pitfalls, hard‑won lessons, and strategies for building solutions that gain traction in complex healthcare systems.
Global Gains, Local Impact: Unlocking Transatlantic Healthtech Value
Chair: Professor Ross Cagan
Panelists: Dr Katriona Brooksbank, Dr Pari Datta, Dr Derek Gilchrist, Adam Isaacs Rae
Our second panel explored the contrasts and similarities between the UK and US healthcare innovation ecosystems, highlighting how UK‑based innovations can deliver meaningful local impact while also scaling internationally.
Panellists compared the UK’s emphasis on evidence generation, validation, and the unique value of NHS data with the more market‑driven, commercial focus of the US system.
From Bench to Bedside: How Clinical Roles Drive Real-world Innovation
Chair: Dr Claire Higgs-McCallum
Panelists: Dr Dervla Carroll, Dr Robert Sykes, and Rachael Ellis (Deputy Head of West of Scotland Centre for Genomic Medicine)
Our third panel explored how clinicians are driving innovation from within the NHS and academia, and what is needed to better support this work. Panellists highlighted the importance of creating the right conditions for innovation to flourish, both at an individual and system level.
The discussion emphasised the need for protected time, dedicated innovation roles, and ongoing skills development, alongside stronger two-way collaboration between clinicians and industry partners to turn ideas into scalable impact.
Translating Emerging Technologies: Building Patient Trust and Real-World Impact
Chair: Professor Nigel Jamieson
Panelists: Dr Ron Alfa (NOETIK), Professor Joanne Edwards, and Dr Emma Parsons
Our final panel focused on how patient trust can be built and sustained as emerging technologies are translated into clinical practice. The discussion highlighted the central role patients play in shaping ethical, effective, and impactful innovation.
Panellists explored the importance of engaging patients early rather than as an afterthought, seeing them as genuine partners in the innovation process. They also discussed how to accelerate access responsibly, recognising that patients want innovation to reach them sooner while remaining safe, relevant, and trustworthy.