From Analogue to Digital: How Innovators are Supporting Health Tech Talent 

The 10 Year Health Plan for England sets out the shift from analogue to digital as a key priority. But how can the workforce meet this demand, developing digital literacy across roles and developing a pipeline of digital talent to deliver this transformation? 

In this blog, NHS Navigator Yasmin Stinchcombe explores how DigitalHealth.London Accelerator alumni companies are collaborating with the health and care system to advance digital skills, workforce upskilling, and AI leadership development.

The NHS and social care system are undergoing a seismic shift in how care is delivered. At the heart of this evolution is a growing commitment to digital transformation, an essential pillar of the 10 Year Health Plan for England, which outlines three key shifts: from hospital to community; from sickness to prevention; and from analogue to digital. With increasing demands on services, an ageing population and constrained resources, digital innovation has the potential to unlock better outcomes, streamline care and empower the workforce. 

In 2019, The Topol Review estimated that 90% of NHS jobs will require digital skills within 20 years. Since then, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) and the AI Opportunities Action Plan (2025) have identified the urgent need to build and improve digital skills and confidence across the healthcare system. From automating repetitive tasks to deploying intelligent diagnostics, health and care staff must be equipped with the skills not just to adopt, but actively implement and use new technologies. 

Innovators are at the forefront of these new digital solutions, but how are they supporting the NHS workforce and the next generation of talent to gain the skills needed to support this shift from analogue to digital? 

Flok Health: Empowering AI pioneers 

Flok Health is one of seven leading companies that have been selected by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to shape a new £17.2 million AI scholarship programme. The Spärck AI Scholarships will provide master’s degree funding and mentorship to around 100 students from universities across the UK, cultivating a new generation of health tech innovators.  

As one of the partners of the programme, Flok Health will offer practical placements and mentoring, equipping students with the tools and confidence they need to become AI pioneers in health and care settings.

This DSIT-led initiative aligns with the national ambition to train 7.5 million workers in AI by 2030, as announced by Keir Starmer at London Tech Week 2025. It also directly supports the NHS’s commitment to “provide comprehensive training in the use of AI and digital tools” and to partner with world-class technology firms. More than just skills development, the scholarship is an investment in creating a sustainable talent pipeline. The programme opens for applications in Spring 2026, with the first cohort beginning in October 2026. 

“AI is generating economic value and industrial change at unprecedented pace. To ensure that the UK is at the forefront of this transformation, its vital that we can attract and develop the world’s best talent – not just to study here, but to stay and build future-defining companies of global importance. We were delighted to be invited by the government to be an anchor partner for the flagship Spärck AI scholarship to do exactly that.” 

Finn Stevenson, Co-founder and CEO, Flok Health

Megi Health: Launching the Megi high-risk doula certification 

Megi Health’s new Certification is enhancing how lived experience and global expertise are captured and shared. The six-week training course is designed to standardise, validate, and share personal and professional health knowledge for doulas supporting birthing people with high-risk pregnancies, including hypertensive disorders, preeclampsia and other medical complexities. It combines practical skill-building sessions, such as blood pressure technique, with training videos and Q&As, which develop approaches for working with personalised plans, supporting families and integrating digital tools for maternity care. 

This certification recognises the importance of holistic, personalised care, directly responding to health inequalities in maternity care by supporting a community of advocates. In doing so, it promotes both accountability and agility within the system. Meet the first cohort, which launched in September 2025. 

“The Megi High-Risk Doula Certification equips birth workers with evidence-based digital education, AI-enabled on-demand learning tools, and peer case discussions – with over 85% of delegates reporting increased confidence in supporting women through high-risk pregnancies. By bridging the gap between community and hospital-based care, the programme empowers birth workers embedded in communities to recognise early warning signs and act with greater clarity, competence, and confidence.”

Dr Frances Conti-Ramsden, Chief Medical Officer, Megi Health

NSU Media: Embedding learning into everyday practice 

NSU Media, a fast-growing health tech platform, is taking a radically different approach: embedding digital training directly into its tools. By integrating practical, bite-sized learning within its digital solutions, NSU Media ensures that workforce upskilling becomes part of the everyday workflow, bridging the gap between knowledge and practice. 

Welcome to Leadership, an online development programme that specifically supports newly appointed managers with the fundamentals to lead and manage their teams effectively. Laser-focused on the first 6 months in the role, it bridges the gap that new managers often experience between becoming a team leader and opportunities to access the foundational training, development and support that they might need in the early stages. In the NHS, the programme has been deployed across the University Hospitals Birmingham to all 4,000 managers and is now one of their key people pillars. 

This “training by design” model directly aligns with the NHS’s ambition to free up clinical time by reducing administrative burden, while also helping staff to operate at the top of their capability. It is also reflective of the 10 Year Health Plan for England’s ambition to ensure “every single member of NHS staff will have their own personalised career coaching and development plan” by 2035.

Particularly valuable in high-pressure, frontline settings, this approach has the potential to remove traditional barriers to training, such as time, cost and accessibility, and facilitates continuous learning within care delivery. 

Impact and lessons for the wider system 

As the health and care system moves from analogue to digital, there is a shared responsibility to enhance the digital literacy, skills and confidence of the workforce. Delivering this vision will require sustained cross-sector collaboration between innovators, health systems, academic institutions and government.

Whether it’s scholarships, training opportunities or embedded learning platforms, success depends on shared commitment. By leading by example, organisations like Flok Health, Megi Health and NSU Media are not only aiming to solve today’s challenges, but they are also helping to prepare tomorrow’s workforce. 

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme 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.