July 14, 2026
New accelerator programme helps digital health innovators access NHS primary care
Digital health innovators aiming to scale within NHS primary care are being offered an exciting opportunity to better understand and engage with one of healthcare’s most complex markets through Primary Care Ready, a specialist accelerator programme launched by Health Innovation West of England and One Care.
Designed for companies with solutions ready to scale, the five‑day accelerator will help innovators strengthen their commercial proposition, better understand NHS primary care procurement and prepare their products for wider adoption across the UK. The programme responds to one of the biggest barriers facing UK health technology businesses – successfully navigating the complexity of NHS primary care commissioning, understanding customer needs and demonstrating value to decision-makers and achieving sustainable commercial scale in a pressured healthcare system.
Primary Care Ready combines commercialisation expertise with real-world operational insight from One Care, one of the UK’s largest GP federations. Participants will receive practical guidance from NHS leaders, clinicians and innovation specialists on market access, procurement pathways, customer engagement, implementation and scaling opportunities within primary care.
The programme also reflects growing national demand for technologies that can support neighbourhood health, prevention, digital transformation and the shift of care from hospitals into community settings – creating significant commercial opportunities for companies positioned to meet these priorities.
Alongside five in-person workshops in Bristol, participating companies will receive tailored one-to-one support from Health Innovation West of England’s innovation advisors to help refine their commercial strategy, strengthen their value proposition and prepare for engagement with NHS customers and decision-makers.
Speaking of One Care’s involvement in delivering the accelerator programme, Morgan Daly, Deputy Digital Director – Transformation and Strategy, at One Care, commented: “One Care supports practices and primary care networks (PCNs) to identify and implement the digital tools and innovations best suited to their organisation. Our partnership approach has given One Care an in-depth understanding of the realities and complexities of implementing new technologies in primary care settings.
“Through the Primary Care Ready programme, we’ll help innovators understand procurement, operational workflows, clinical priorities and what successful adoption looks like in practice. By sharing those insights, we can help companies develop solutions that are better aligned to the needs of the NHS and more likely to achieve sustainable scale.”
Alex Leach, Deputy Director of Programmes at Health Innovation West of England, said: “Many innovative companies develop excellent technologies but find that entering the NHS primary care market is far more complex than expected. Success requires much more than a strong product; it depends on understanding how primary care works, who makes purchasing decisions, how value is assessed and how to demonstrate a compelling case for adoption.
“Primary Care Ready has been designed to address those challenges. By combining expert commercialisation support with direct access to primary care leaders and operational expertise, we’re helping innovators deliver innovations that better suit the needs of the primary care market and become investment-ready, procurement-ready and ultimately adoption-ready.”
The Primary Care Ready programme is open to innovators from across the UK developing digital technologies for primary care, particularly those focused on workforce optimisation, neighbourhood health, long-term condition management and frailty.
Applicants should already be working with at least one NHS organisation and be progressing towards, or already hold, the appropriate regulatory approvals.
Applications are now open, with the programme taking place in Bristol across five in-person sessions between 12–15 October and 5 November 2026.
Applications close at midnight on Sunday 23 August 2026. Find out more and apply here.
New accelerator programme helps digital health innovators access NHS primary care
New accelerator programme helps digital health innovators access NHS primary care
