Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

👇 News

💊 UK online pharmacy Pharmacy2U has entered the care home sector with the acquisition of Care Quality Pharmacy, which provides prescription and NHS services to care home groups, extra care services, and domiciliary care agencies.

🏆Weston Park Cancer Centre’s radiotherapy remote monitoring team have won the British Association of Urological Nurses’ Urology Team of the Year title after successfully implementing a remote monitoring service and escalation clinic for prostate cancer patient.

🤝The European research project DREAMS, a project that aims to fast-track new therapies for rare neuromuscular diseases, has incorporated University College London. DREAMS, funded under the Horizon Europe programme, combines AI-based drug discovery, patient-derived iPSC skeletal muscle models, and advanced phenotypic screening to identify and validate promising therapeutic candidates.

📹 An international trial, sponsored by US company PROCEPT BioRobotics and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, for treating prostate cancer using robotics, AI and real-time imaging, has launched in the UK.

🧠 Psyomics has launched ‘beseen’ for neurodiversity, a digital tool that supports NHS services struggling to meet the demand of neurodevelopmental referrals and backlogs. It was developed in collaboration with Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

❓ Did you know that?

An independent study across seven Suffolk care homes links AI-enabled lighting to 75% fewer falls-related hospital visits admissions and 65% fewer ambulance callouts.

The research into care homes using Nobi Smart Lights reduced pressure on emergency services while improving safety for residents.

The evaluation, carried out by the Suffolk & North East Essex Integrated Care Board, studied 87 rooms across seven care homes providing residential, nursing, dementia and assisted living care.

Outcomes were assessed by comparing six months of baseline data with six months following installation, with some homes recording zero fall-related hospital admissions during the evaluation period.

Nobi’s AI-enabled, ceiling-mounted smart lights detect falls in real time, alert staff and automatically illuminate when residents get out of bed.

🎧 What we’re listening to

In the latest Problems Worth Solving podcast from Healthia, Helen Thomas, chief executive of Digital Health and Care Wales, shares her perspective on the human side of transformation.

Drawing on more than 36 years in the NHS, including leading Wales’ digital response during covid, Thomas reflects on what leadership really feels like at the sharp end of health and care – making difficult decisions, carrying responsibility, navigating uncertainty, and still showing up for others.

She said: “You can’t be compassionate with others if you’re not being compassionate to yourself.

“So, invest in yourself, be courageous and curious – you’ve got to be in order to do these jobs. Back yourself and be true to your values. That centres me, it’s where I come back to, that fairness, kindness, and compassion.”

🚨 Upcoming events

10 February 2026 – Why History Matters: Strengthening Maternity And Neonatal Safety Through Reliable Access To Historical Data