What to Expect from HETT Leaders’ Summit 2027

HETT Leaders’ Summit is returning to the Royal Armouries on 11 February 2027.

What can delegates expect from this year’s event? 
HETT Leaders’ Summit is a one-day conference bringing together senior NHS leaders and influential voices from across the health and care system to tackle the most pressing challenges facing strategic and operational delivery. The Summit will explore key priorities around four key themes: strategic commissioning; finance, digital accountability and risk: AI and innovation; organisational efficiency, productivity and stability.  

The revamped agenda for 2027 will blend panels and in-depth case studies with breakouts and peer-led, discussion-led formats. Here’s some of the exciting session formats you can get involved with on the day:  

Curated Roundtables  
Hosted under Chatham House rules, our roundtable series will allow leaders to discuss focused strategic priorities and challenges in an open and pragmatic way. With one dedicated session in the morning and one in the afternoon, HETT Leaders’ Summit 2027 will put your voice at the heart of the programme.  

Hosted Workshops 
There will also be a chance to apply for dedicated workshops designed to explore challenges, share experience and develop new approaches. Drawing on the collective knowledge and leadership experience in the room, the session will encourage meaningful engagement, knowledge exchange and ideas that can be taken forward into practice. Delegates will work in structured mini-breakouts to design forward-thinking outcomes.  

Ask Us Anything  
The questions leaders are asking but aren't always given the opportunity to discuss. Sometimes there are questions left unanswered, and this session will give leaders the space to bring them to the fore. An open, interactive town hall where you set the agenda. Bring your questions, share your challenges and hear directly from a panel of experts in an informal, candid discussion. With no presentations or pre-set talking points, the conversation will be shaped by what matters most to you. Submit questions in advance or on the day, vote for the topics you'd most like to hear discussed, and get involved in a conversation that goes beyond the usual conference Q&A. 

The Live Case Room  
Step into a real-world challenge where the answers aren't always straightforward. Our experts will unpack a scenario, debate different approaches and reveal how their decisions might change as new information comes to light. You'll have the chance to weigh in, vote on possible courses of action and challenge the panel's thinking. Expect a lively, practical discussion that explores different perspectives and asks the big question: what would you do? 

Based on real scenarios taking place across the NHS at present, the fictional “Northbridge Health Group” will be taking centre stage as leaders from across the sector play the roles of the strategic leadership team aiming to save 20m in the next two years. With trusts at different levels of maturity and using different systems, the room will have a chance to explore how strategic decisions impact the trusts' ability to transform and improve whilst delivering key everyday services and keeping the lights on.  

Panel 
The opening panel at the Summit will provide an opportunity to explore how strategic commissioning can translate national ambitions into local action, including the role of long-term funding, regional devolution, cross-sector collaboration and accountability in shaping the future of health and care. Who Should Pay for the Left Shift and Who Should Be Accountable for Delivering It? Speakers from across different areas of the health and care system will share their insights and perspectives on how we deliver such a transitional change cross-organisationally and within new structures.  

Debate 
An exciting new format for the HETT stage. Three lightning debates which will identify the drivers and challenges around operational efficiency, workforce, and crucially patient experience when it comes to the rapidly emerging use of agentic AI across health and care. Two speakers will take on each lightning debate, one for the motion and one against. The room will vote as we move through the discussions to see whether leaders in the room believe agentic AI can radically transform health and care.  

Hotseat: Failures and Learnings 
This candid conversation puts the failures, challenges and lessons learned centre stage, exploring what happens when organisations introduce new digital tools and technologies to change the way they operate. 

Two speakers will share their experiences, from working to implement new digital tools and technologies, in a quick-fire session. Sometimes the detail of a project is unique to one organisation or geography, but there is commonality across what the NHS is trying to deliver for staff and patients. This session is designed to share the key insights into what leaders would do with hindsight, how we can’t always expect linear progress and being pragmatic about failing fast and putting the learnings into a new way forward.  

1-2-1 Networking and Meetings  
Running alongside the content programme, a dedicated one-to-one meetings programme will connect attendees with relevant peers and solution providers, supporting meaningful networking and opportunities for progress. 

Drinks!
After a jam-packed day of learning and discussion, you can join your peers and exhibitors for a drink. Digest what has been most poignant, make lasting connections and reflect on the opportunities that collaborative working can offer. We'll be serving a selection of alcoholic and soft drinks for everyone to enjoy and end the day as a group.