Overcoming challenges to safely implement AI in health and care

Leeds Digital Health returns on Thursday 14 May 2026 with an evening focused on one of the harder problems in health tech: how to implement AI safely, within existing clinical pathways, and in a way that patients and professionals can actually trust.

The session covers governance, risk management, adoption barriers, and integration into care delivery. That means the practical and regulatory side of AI in health, not the pitch-deck version. Speakers include Owen Johnson, Associate Professor at the University of Leeds, and Jessica Paulsen, Deputy Director of AI and Software at the MHRA. Having someone from the MHRA in the room is useful — they regulate software as a medical device, and their guidance shapes what health AI can and cannot do in the UK.

The format is a talk-led evening running from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM BST, with time built in for networking. The audience is people working across healthcare, technology and digital delivery in Leeds and the wider region. That tends to mean a mix of NHS staff, digital health founders, developers building clinical tools, and people in procurement or governance roles who have to sign off on this stuff.

Leeds Digital Health has been running events like this for several years, connecting the city's health and tech communities around topics that matter to both. The group is hosted by Donna T. and meets at venues across Leeds city centre. This one is at Holy Trinity Church on Boar Lane — a regular spot for the group.

If you work anywhere near health data, clinical software, or AI-assisted care pathways, the combination of an academic perspective from Leeds and a regulatory perspective from the MHRA makes this a more substantive evening than most.

Why attend

Owen Johnson brings a research perspective on AI in clinical settings from the University of Leeds. Jessica Paulsen, as Deputy Director of AI and Software at the MHRA, can speak directly to how the regulator thinks about software as a medical device — which affects anyone building or deploying health AI in the UK.

The networking runs until 9:00 PM, so there is genuine time to talk to peers across NHS, digital health startups and tech delivery teams. If you are trying to understand what responsible AI implementation actually looks like in practice, rather than in principle, this is a useful room to be in.

Agenda

• 17:30 — Doors open, networking begins
• Evening — Talks: Owen Johnson (University of Leeds) and Jessica Paulsen (MHRA)
• Until 21:00 — Networking

Speakers

• Owen Johnson — Associate Professor at the University of Leeds
• Jessica Paulsen — Deputy Director of AI and Software, MHRA