Emergency Department Healthcare Challenge opens call for Wearable Technologies
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Wearables in Emergency Departments (ED) is the latest focus of Healthcare Challenges, a programme delivered by DigitalHealth.London and the Health Innovation Network South London that brings together clinicians, innovators, NHS leaders and people with lived experience to identify and accelerate solutions to priority health issues. The programme helps the NHS explore new ideas, address care gaps and support the adoption of effective technologies.
This Healthcare Challenge considers the full Emergency Department environment, including waiting areas, corridors, monitored bays and treatment areas. The ultimate aim of this challenge is to increase patient safety in emergency department settings, identifying use cases for wearable technology to improve patient outcomes and ease operational pressures in Emergency Departments.
Submit your
Expression of Interest
In collaboration with NHS England (London), we are now seeking expressions of interest from companies with wearable technologies that align with the prioritised functionalities (see below). Expressions of Interest are open until 9:00am on Tuesday 17 February.
Selected innovators will be invited to present and demonstrate their wearable technologies at the in-person Wearables in Emergency Departments Healthcare Challenge event in London on Thursday 5 March 2026.
The event is an opportunity for innovators to receive clinical and operational feedback, build relationships with NHS stakeholders, and explore whether their solutions could be suitable for future pilot or proof-of-concept activity within urgent and emergency care settings.
Prioritised Functionalities for
Wearables in Emergency Departments
We are seeking wearable technologies that incorporate at least three of the following functionalities and benefits:
- Enable continuous, safe physiological monitoring of patients across Emergency Department settings
Support the reliable monitoring of vital signs of patients in Emergency Department settings, helping to extend clinical oversight beyond traditional monitored beds. Vital signs may include heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure and respiratory rate.
- Provide early alerts for deterioration and dynamic triage
Detect subtle, clinically relevant changes in patient status and support appropriate escalation, with audit trails to support governance and retrospective review. For example, temperature or heart rate changes in sepsis.
- Deliver actionable insights while minimising burden and risk
Provide insights for clinicians and other healthcare professionals that address key risks in Emergency Department settings, such as alarm fatigue, false positives, infection control and usability challenges.
- Improve outcomes for high‑risk patient cohorts by prioritising accessible design
Wearable technologies that are safe, accessible and provide equitable benefit for high‑risk groups, such as frail older adults, immunocompromised patients, and children. Wearables should be non‑invasive, comfortable for prolonged wear, intuitive for both patients and clinicians, and easy to deploy at scale with minimal setup or training.
Expression of Interest:
Wearables in Emergency Departments
Expressions of interest for this Healthcare Challenge must meet the following criteria:
- Wearable technologies designed to support monitoring or risk identification in urgent and emergency care settings. Examples of wearable technologies include wrist-worn devices and body-worn sensors.
- Wearable technologies that align with three or more of the prioritised functionalities outlined above.
- Wearable technologies that have secured the required regulatory approval (MHRA/CE conformity), as well as evidence (eg an evaluation or case study) of efficacy from existing deployments in healthcare settings.
- Wearable technologies that have full data security, such as GDPR compliance, encryption, role-based access.
- Wearable technologies that have accurate and reliable data, with appropriate fail-safes, such as back-up alerts, device self-tests, connectivity checks.
- Wearable technologies that are compatible and ideally already integrated with common Electronic Health Records (EHRs), as well as Emergency Department workflows.
- Companies committed to collaborative work with NHS clinical, operational and digital stakeholders.
- Availability of a company representative to attend the in-person Wearables in Emergency Departments Healthcare Challenge event in London on Thursday 5 March 2026.
Shortlisted companies will be invited to take part in the in-person Wearables for Emergency Departments Healthcare Challenge event in London on Thursday 5 March. Participation will involve:
- Presenting your wearable technology to NHS clinicians, operational leaders, digital colleagues and patient representatives.
- Discussing real-world use cases and feasibility of your wearable technology within Emergency Department settings.
- Exploring potential future pilots or proof-of-concept opportunities with NHS stakeholders.
- Building relationships across the London urgent and emergency care system.
Please note that participation in this Healthcare Challenge event does not guarantee a pilot or procurement or commissioning opportunity.
Expressions of interest will be reviewed based on:
- Alignment with the four priorities and the criteria for this Wearables in Emergency Departments Healthcare Challenge.
- Relevance of to NHS urgent and emergency care pathways in London and the populations they serve.
- Potential impact on patient outcomes, operational efficiency and equity.
- Readiness to engage in pilot, proof-of-concept or evaluation activity within NHS urgent and emergency care environments.
- Ability to work collaboratively with NHS stakeholders.
This expression of interest period is open from Friday 6 February 2026 to 9:00am on Tuesday 17 February 2026.
Shortlisting will take place on Thursday 20 February 2026 and candidates will be notified via email if they have been selected.
Selected companies will be invited to the in-person Wearables in Emergency Departments Healthcare Challenges event in London on Thursday 5 March 2026. Further details on the event format and next phases will be shared with shortlisted applicants.
DigitalHealth.London Healthcare Challenges is funded by the UK Government via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It is delivered by the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London in partnership with the Office of Life Sciences, CW+, NHS England and the Mayor of London.
For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-
shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.
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