Annual impact report 2025-26
Supporting innovators
The NHS is one of the most complex health systems in the world to sell into. Procurement is slow, evidence requirements are high and it can be hard to know who to speak to or how to move from a promising idea to adoption.
But the prize is significant: the NHS 10-Year Health Plan commits the health service to major investment in innovation, and the opportunity to scale a proven solution across one of the world’s largest healthcare systems is unparalleled.
We worked with 247 companies this year, supporting them to raise more than £9M and providing them with the practical guidance, connections and insight needed to make change happen. This support helped them create 71 jobs and safeguard an additional 44 jobs.
Below, you can read just some of the examples of the impact this work has had:
Evidence that could change asthma care for children
We worked with Tiny Medical Apps to show the impact and value of their digital asthma self-management tool. Our independent evaluation and additional data and analysis work captured outcomes from 1,751 children, young people and carers between 2023 and 2025 and showed clear improvements in asthma control. This evidence was central in building the economic case for adoption, projecting £8.21 in return for every £1 spent over three years. It also contributed to the tool being included in NICE’s draft Early Value Assessment guidance, creating a clearer route towards wider NHS adoption.
“UCLPartners and the NHS Innovation Accelerator have played a crucial role in helping us build the evidence and system relationships needed to move from local delivery to national recognition.”
Dr Greg Burch, Joint CEO, Tiny Medical Apps
Using AI to improve dementia diagnosis and support
We brought together NHS organisations, researchers and innovator Punto Health to test a suite of AI-enabled tools designed to improve dementia diagnosis, monitoring and support. We helped deliver a 10-week NHS pilot, bringing together clinical and system partners, co-designing the pilot, redesigning the pathway and supporting governance approvals. The pilot provided a strong evidence base for two follow-on NIHR-funded pilots across North and South London and we are now leading the patient and public involvement, clinical implementation and health economics work for a follow-on multi-site trial.
“UCLPartners have been incredible champions of our mission to transform dementia care.”
Anna Muñoz Farré, Co-Founder and CEO, Punto Health
Photo courtesy of Punto Health
Putting families at the heart of autism and ADHD support
We led the patient and public involvement and engagement programme for an AI-powered chatbot and screening tool being developed by Assembly to help families waiting for neurodevelopmental assessment. We recruited a group of 11 parents and carers with lived experience from across England and ran workshops to understand their challenges, priorities and expectations for digital support. Their insights helped shape the chatbot and screening tool’s functionality, language and user experience. The project has now progressed to wider user testing, with more than 50 parents and carers providing feedback on the latest version.
“UCLPartners has helped us refine our objectives and improve the process so that it fully involved parents of neurodiverse children in shaping our product.”
Dr Frank Burbach, Assembly Co-founder & Chief Clinical Officer
Making dental sedation more sustainable
We helped bring the eAdvantage gas delivery system into the NHS. We brokered a relationship between UCLH and eAdvantage’s supplier, Agile Medical, and helped UCLH design and set up a trial in its early stages at The Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals. The machines reduced nitrous oxide emissions by around 70% and UCLH has now adopted the eAdvantage system as its primary approach to nitrous oxide delivery, purchasing seven machines to meet clinical demand.
“The e-advantage system has been a real success. Patients will continue to receive safe, effective sedation with the added reassurance that their treatment is delivered in a more environmentally responsible way.”
Alexandra Lyne, Paediatric dentistry consultant, Eastman Dental Hospital
“Working with UCLPartners and the clinical team at UCLH demonstrated what can be achieved when healthcare providers and innovators collaborate around a shared objective.”
Fergus Glass, Senior Equipment Consultant, Agile Medical
