EBME Expo 2026
Delivering the intelligent hospital in the NHP era
As the NHS advances its ambitious New Hospital Programme (NHP), attention is increasingly turning from construction timelines to a more complex question: how will these new and refurbished facilities function in practice?
The success of the New Hospital Programme (NHP) programme will depend not only on delivering modern estates, but on embedding the technology, systems, and processes required to support sustainable, high-quality care. In this context, the EBME Expo 2026, taking place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 24–25 June, offers a timely platform for addressing the operational realities of the Intelligent Hospital.
From capital investment to operational performance The NHP represents a once-in-a-generation investment in healthcare infrastructure. However, as many estates and facilities leaders recognise, capital builds alone will not deliver improved outcomes. To achieve the programme’s objectives, greater productivity, enhanced patient safety, and long-term cost control, new hospitals must be underpinned by integrated, data-enabled technology ecosystems. This requires a shift in focus: from individual assets to whole-life management of connected systems. Under the chairmanship of Professor
John Sandham, EBME Expo 2026 reflects this transition. The event brings together medical engineering, operating theatre, digital, and procurement professionals to examine how healthcare technology can be specified,
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One of the key challenges facing NHS organisations is the fragmentation between estates, clinical engineering, and IT functions.
deployed, and managed as part of a coherent infrastructure strategy.
Bridging estates, medical engineering and IT functions One of the key challenges facing NHS organisations is the fragmentation between estates, clinical engineering, and IT functions. As medical equipment becomes increasingly networked and as cybersecurity requirements intensify, this separation introduces both operational risk and inefficiency. The Intelligent Hospital model seeks
to address this by aligning stakeholders around a shared objective: ensuring that critical equipment is available, interoperable, and secure throughout its lifecycle. For procurement, estates, IT, medical engineering, and clinical teams, this has direct implications. Infrastructure planning must now account for: l Network capacity and resilience. l Device connectivity and interoperability standards.
l Cybersecurity and data governance requirements.
l Lifecycle maintenance and replacement strategies.
l AI – Clinical decision support.
EBME Expo provides a forum for exploring these issues in a practical context, supporting more informed decision-making across disciplines.
A programme focused on delivery The 2026 conference programme is structured to reflect the operational priorities of NHS organisations navigating this transition. The EBME Conference addresses the fundamentals of equipment lifecycle management, from acquisition through to maintenance and optimisation – core considerations for both medical engineering and estates teams. The Connectivity Conference examines the
infrastructure required to support connected care environments, including network security, cloud integration, and the growing role of Internet enabled devices. Recognising that technology is only as effective as its users, the Training Conference
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