Digital Health Unplugged

Pitchfest winner: Why the UK is falling behind on women’s health

Winning the Rewired Pitchfest 2026 competition has put women’s health in the spotlight, but Daye’s founder Valentina Milanova tells Digital Health Unplugged that the UK is still "falling behind" on care, research and investment.

In the latest podcast episode, Tammy Lovell, editor at Digital Health News, speaks to Milanova about the urgent need to rethink women’s health and why progress has been slower than it should be.

They explore the ongoing challenges, from stigma and funding gaps to delays in diagnosis and access to care, and what needs to change to better support patients.

At the centre of the conversation is Daye’s flagship innovation: a diagnostic tampon designed for at-home HPV testing, which offers a new approach to cervical cancer screening aimed at improving accessibility for patients while easing pressure on NHS services.

Milanova also reflects on the wider issues shaping women’s health - from the legacy of women being excluded from clinical trials until the 1990s to the reality that many women still wait years for a diagnosis.

Listen to the full episode to hear why she believes the UK has the tools to tackle one of the most preventable cancers, but isn’t moving fast enough.

Guest:

Valentina Milanova, founder and chief executive of Daye

 

Fixing patient flow in healthcare

Host Jordan Sollof is joined in the latest episode of Digital Health Unplugged by Alcidion’s Paul Deffley and Tracy McClelland to discuss patient flow and why getting it right is essential for safety, efficiency and patient experience.

Deffley, UK managing director and chief medical officer, and McClelland, chief clinical information officer at Alcidion, discuss the firm’s new handbook on improving patient flow across healthcare systems.

They also highlight a real-world example of patient flow at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The discussion then turns to the the key findings and recommendations in the Public Policy Projects report on bed management and patient flow that Alcidion were involved in.

Lastly, the pair give their best tips for hospital leaders wanting to improve flow starting tomorrow, before discussing the other developments planned for 2026 for Alcidion.

Guests:

Paul Deffley, UK managing director and chief medical officer at Alcidion

Tracy McClelland, chief clinical information officer at Alcidion

 

The Single Patient Record: revolutionising care or rewriting trust?

In the latest episode of Digital Health Unplugged, host Jordan Sollof is joined at NHS ConfedExpo 2026 by Dr Peter Thomas and Kate Warriner for a deep dive into the proposed NHS single patient record (SPR).

The government’s NHS Modernisation Bill includes a requirement for all NHS providers to share patient data to create a SPR, which it says will help join up fragmented health information and improve access to patient records across care settings.

Dr Thomas, director of digital development and consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Warriner, chief transformation and digital officer at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, discuss how a SPR could help both clinicians and patients.

With concerns around the legislation forcing providers to share patient data, the pair explain how the NHS should balance easier access to information with patients’ expectations around consent and control, before stressing the importance of leadership and governance to the success of the SPR.

Finally, the guests highlight the technical barriers that still need to be overcome before a SPR can be created and set out what needs to have happened for the SPR programme to be considered a success five years from now.

Guests:

Dr Peter Thomas, director of digital development and consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Kate Warriner, chief transformation and digital officer at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust