The full report on The Hett Show

The Hett Report

This full report highlights events and provides a commentary on the activities that occurred at London ExCel last week.

The HETT Show stands for Healthcare Excellence Through Technology.

It is the UK’s leading digital healthcare event that brings together health and care professionals to discuss technology, share knowledge, and drive innovation in the sector.

HETT 2025 has just wrapped! This year’s show marked the first major opportunity for health and care professionals to discuss the NHS 10-Year Plan and the future of digitally enabled services.

Opchat News, who were designated Media Partners for the event spent a highly motivating 2 days at London’s ExCel last week. With over 4000 delegates from all genres within Healthcare and over 200 lecturers on 6 stages this event was truly progressive and informative.

We may have missed some people in the crowds but we were surprised to see no other optical delegates other than ourselves.

Maybe from the original blurb this conference didn’t immediate appeal to eyecare delegates, but the main emphasis was on the NHS 10-year plan and moving forward with speed.

We met and were surrounded by primary health workers, GP teams and GP workers as well as ophthalmologists, pharmacists  and many primary care teams as well as many involved in the design of EPR and PMS systems.

With so many changes forecast in the immediate future of eyecare and the role of professionals in the vision sector those charged with guiding the professions in Vision Care should take note of the direction of change evident at the HETT Show.

Undoubtedly the driving force in healthcare improvement is going to be achieved by the use and modification by AI of all our current thinking.

With workforce pressures mounting and integrated care a growing priority, the event emphasised the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. Clinicians, NHS leaders, tech innovators, and other sector specialists came together to exchange ideas, challenge assumptions, and develop practical solutions to improve patient outcomes.

“I think spaces like this are so important to bring together the private sector and the public sector, to create something that is actually valuable to patients as opposed to feeling like we’re working against each other.”

Tulsi Patel, Director of Product at Hertility.

This theme of cross-sector collaboration was echoed throughout the show.

“The sort of things that are mentioned with the 10-Year Plan… [they] are only really feasible with diverse partnerships.”

Stephen Armstrong, Head of Product, British Heart Foundation

We in Optics have been complacent in the accelerated movement in upskilling and the advances in optical equipment capability. In our own bubble our improvements in retinal imaging and field analysis to name just a few recent progressions have slowed our understanding of what else we must do to implement the 10-year plan. 

Bob Hutchinson Past President of General Practice with Primary Health Care section at the RSM. (Ed of Opchat News)

What will drive the NHS and Healthcare overall was evident at the show and this was connectivity. Connectivity within our clinics, between referrals and consultants achieving the breakdown of silo working that has dogged healthcare especially primary care since the inception of the NHS.

The use of Ambient AI to speed processes like note taking in consultations, allowing more time for Patient discussion and correct diagnosis and referral direct to the right consultant along with digital notes and images will be of immense value.

As will the totally revamped NHS app, “the doctor in your pocket”, is currently being enhanced to carry a wealth of information about a person.

With the assumed regulation on eye sight standards for driving coming into effect the NHS app could be a useful tool to show eyecare has been performed and ones standard of vision is satisfactory given the requirement to wear an Rx in some format. Also auto-alerts for re-examinations could be built in as well as ones last 3 prescriptions, which could be invaluable in demonstrating progressive myopia.

Have the Optical Bodies considered these opportunities?

PMS systems in Optical Practices as well as GP surgeries have shown very little improvements over the last few years and still many practices are not using them to the full extent.

Clinical findings and visual fields are an obvious win-win for Patient, Referrer and Consultant as well as proving to regulators that consultations are carried out satisfactorily.

AI will speed up and transcribe the patient consultation but also automatically update the patients EPR including diagnosis and decision making, referral and e-letter writing and update their NHS app with the latest RX and test information.

A big talking point at HETT was AI, running across all theatres and highlighted in a dedicated AI Spotlight. Sessions went beyond theory. They showed how advanced technologies can be applied in clinical care and sparked conversations about linking different aspects of health to offer more holistic, personalised support.

But as reliance on digital technologies grows, so does the need to safeguard patient data and healthcare systems. These concerns were not just discussed in panels and keynote talks; they were also apparent on the showroom floor, where exhibitors demonstrated implementable solutions to enhance digital security and patient safety.

“Cybersecurity in general is becoming a board-level problem… and unfortunately, the NHS and the healthcare sector in particular are being targeted more and more by bad actors, nation states, and so on. It’s something that needs to be addressed and is becoming a bigger issue. Armis is one of the many companies helping to better equip the NHS and support their cyber resilience journey.”

Armis, Exhibitor

Another company specialising in digital security is Synology, which took to the floor to showcase its PAS Series enterprise storage platform, designed for high performance, scalability, and reliability in managing mission-critical healthcare data. Alongside this, they highlighted ActiveProtect, a centralised backup and rapid recovery solution to safeguard patient information.

“We’re seeing healthcare organisations face increasing demands around data protection, compliance, and accessibility from electronic health records to imaging data and AI-driven diagnostics. Our participation at HETT reflects our commitment to helping healthcare organisations strengthen their cybersecurity posture and ensure business continuity.”

Synology, Exhibitor

Many of the discussions that took place at HETT 2025 focused on the move from analogue to digital processes. This was explored in depth at the new NHS Records Management theatre, a purpose-built space for debating the transition to fully integrated electronic systems.

In one session, panellists explored the practical challenges of digitising decades of paper records, highlighting the need for experienced partners and the right technology to handle fragile and inconsistent documents.

Speakers emphasised that digitisation is about more than freeing physical space – it also improves efficiency for staff, enables patient access, and unlocks data for research and healthcare planning.

Case studies shared included borough-wide efforts to digitise GP records, demonstrating how creative use of funding and processes can overcome historical underinvestment in digital infrastructure.

As well as a move to fully digital patient records, the 10-Year Plan also set a clear ambition to shift from a system built on treating sickness to one that prioritises prevention. This theme resonated across the programme, with delegates calling for radical change in how healthcare engages and supports communities.

NHS to pay on good processes and results

The NHS using new technology plans to investigate patient outcomes through electronic questionnaires following procedures and consultations and plans to adjust its future payment processes to pay for good quality work.

In one session, speakers explored practical ways to embed prevention into everyday care. They underscored the importance of meeting people where they are and using trusted relationships to drive early interventions.

The discussion also acknowledged the challenge of measuring the impact of prevention, given that benefits often take years to materialise. “Prevention is hard… it takes a different mindset,” one panellist said. “Investing in prevention now may deliver outcomes in five or ten years, but that might reduce the number of people living with heart or kidney disease in the future.”

Alongside featured presentations, HETT 2025 introduced a brand-new Roundtable Area, created to encourage open, participant-led conversations.

One standout session, ‘Leading with Compassion: Supporting Women’s Health in the Workplace through Digital Innovation,’ provided attendees with actionable strategies to promote greater inclusivity across healthcare.

Tulsi Patel, chair of the session, commented, “I think round table settings are really great when discussing topics that are a little controversial. People feel more comfortable sharing anecdotes and personal experiences, rather than speaking in a large public forum.”

She added that this format is particularly apt for women’s health, where many have had negative experiences. “It’s so important to create a safe space where they feel they can openly share.”

Alongside cybersecurity and other major themes, patient safety stood out as a central focus – it was ultimately the shared goal driving everyone at the show. Many attendees called attention to the value of being in a space where they could learn from others and exchange ideas.

Peter Whawell, CEO at Poxximos, noted the importance of these conversations, explaining that the most valuable discussions happen when people are in “genuine learning mode, looking for what’s happening” and open to hearing different perspectives.

We will be there next year and we hope that many involved in eyecare and the vision sector will also join us on September 29–30, 2026