The NHS Innovation Accelerator announced its 2026 Fellows live at Digital Health Rewired, spotlighting a new cohort of innovators whose solutions are already delivering results in the NHS and are ready to scale nationally.

25 Fellows have been selected to bring forward solutions that respond directly to national and local priorities following a rigorous application process. The innovations range from prevention and early intervention to elective recovery, mental health and workforce.

As the NHS works to deliver the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, the need to move from isolated pilots to sustainable, system-wide adoption has never been clearer. Each innovation has been selected for its potential to improve outcomes, enhance experience and deliver value for the health and care system. 

Delivered in partnership with NHS England and the 15 health innovation networks, the NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) supports individuals to scale proven innovations across the health and care system – equipping Fellows with expert mentoring, strategic networks, and tailored support to overcome system barriers, ease pressure on services, and improve outcomes for staff and patients.  

Out of the 25 selected Fellows, seven of these have received significant support from HIEM, including:

1. S-Press - a rehabilitation tool enabling effective leg muscle strengthening for patients to speed up physical and functional recovery after illness or injury and shorten length of stay. 
2. Miscarriage Collection Cradle - the world's first patented medical device for reliable and dignified collection of pregnancy tissue outside surgery, reducing surgical intervention and avoidable A&E admissions. 
3. EnrichMyCare - a digital front door for paediatric neurodevelopment and neurodisability care pathways, using AI-driven triage and shared home and school data to enable faster diagnosis and proactive care.
4. UpSkill.Health- delivers bite-sized, mobile training for busy NHS maternity staff in order to amplify women's lived experience and learning from safety investigations to improve maternity safety.
5. Flow NeuroScience - a class IIa wearable medical device using transcranial direct current stimulation, a companion app, and clinical platform for at-home treatment of depression in adults. 
6. Appt Health - an intelligent care coordination service that automates planned and preventive care outreach, improving uptake and reducing workload for GP teams. 
7. CareLoop - a real-time monitoring and relapse prevention tool for people living with severe mental illness, keeping lives on track and improving care pathways. 

And more recently, HIEM has engaged with the innovation PANProfiler Colorectal, which provides AI-driven IVD software that analyses images of routine biopsy slides to determine biomarker status critical for colorectal cancer treatment in minutes.

Mindy Simon, Co-Director, NHS Innovation Accelerator, said: "This year's fellows join us at a pivotal moment for health and care. Systems are under sustained pressure, but there is also renewed clarity around national priorities, and the role innovation must play in delivering them. The 2026 cohort reflects a decade of learning about what it takes to scale in the NHS: strong evidence, system alignment and collaboration. We look forward to working alongside our fellows and partners across the country to ensure proven innovations reach the patients and communities who need them most."

Jack Porter, Co-Director, NHS Innovation Accelerator, said: "At a time when the NHS is focused on delivering the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan, the need to adopt and spread proven innovation has never been greater. The NHS Innovation Accelerator continues to identify solutions that are not only evidence-based, but ready to scale. The 2026 fellows represent practical, tested innovations that can support systems to improve outcomes, increase productivity and deliver high-quality care for patients across the country."

Over the last ten years, NIA supported innovations have reached more than 10 million patients, been adopted across more than 3,500 NHS sites, and supported 140 innovations – all demonstrating the impact of connecting evidence-based solutions with system needs. 

Find out more about the other fellows selected to be part of the 2026 programme and their innovations here.