An Interview with Jennie Smith, Health and Care Director, WM5G
When you ask Jennie Smith about innovation in health and care, she doesn’t start with technology. She starts with people. “Reports cite bed days and delayed discharges like they’re just statistics,” she says, referencing the 13,800 hospital beds in England occupied daily by patients medically fit to leave, and the 1.77 million bed days lost in the first half of 2025. “But behind every number is a person—a patient who wants to go home, a family waiting, a nurse trying to do the right thing in a stretched system.”
For Jennie, the challenge is universal. Whether in Birmingham, Boston, or Bangalore, health systems everywhere struggle with bottlenecks, fragmented care, and stretched resources.
“We saw that nearly 15% of patients faced delays that could have been prevented. That’s not just inefficiency—it’s lost time, lost dignity, and lost opportunity for recovery.”
WM5G’s Digital Discharge Service (DDS) is the next chapter in a journey that began with their award-winning Technology Enabled Care (TEC) programme. “We’ve taken the learnings from TEC—where we supported hundreds of people to live independently at home, informed social workers, trained digital navigators and delivered dozens of case studies—to inform this new model,” Jennie explains.
What makes DDS different is its focus on enabling safe, rapid transitions from hospital to home, using digital monitoring, clinical oversight and home-readiness support. “It’s not about asking hospitals to overhaul anything or create new pathways. It’s about fitting into existing workflows and making it easier for frontline teams to do what they do best,” she says.
Jennie is quick to credit the diverse expertise that grounds WM5G’s approach. “Our clinically led team is enhanced by people with significant experience in health and care systems management and leadership. They bring clinical insight, operational know-how, and a deep understanding of what works on the ground.” This blend of backgrounds means DDS is designed not just for efficiency, but for empathy.
“We’re building a service that honours the human experience—making care more compassionate, more effective, and more responsive.”
She continues, “You can have the best algorithms in the world, but if you don’t build trust—between clinicians, patients, social care teams, and tech partners—nothing changes.” DDS is fully managed, adaptable to different technologies, and doesn’t require new digital infrastructure. “We’re not just digitising discharge. We’re reimagining the whole pathway, from hospital to home, with wraparound support and seamless integration with existing care models,” she says.
Jennie shares early insights from pilots: “We’ve introduced remote monitoring and wraparound support for people returning home. Connected technologies help us escalate care where needed, reducing avoidable readmissions. Data sharing means teams can coordinate more proactively.” The impact is tangible. “If DDS had been live from January to July, we estimate it could have prevented over 62,000 delayed discharges and saved the system up to £157 million.
But it’s not just about numbers—it’s about making care more personal, more joined-up, and more responsive.”
With the launch of the West Midlands AI Missions, Jennie sees a region ready to lead in health and care innovation. But she’s clear: “The challenges we face—delayed discharges, fragmented care, workforce pressures—are universal. The principles behind DDS can be adapted anywhere across the globe.” She’s frank about the challenges. “Transformation won’t come from technology alone. It comes from partnerships, trust, and a shared focus on outcomes. We’re testing, learning, and improving—together.”
As the conversation turns to the future, Jennie reflects on the importance of robust digital infrastructure in enabling transformation across health and care. “None of this is possible without reliable connectivity. Our region’s 97% 5G coverage means connectivity is no longer a barrier—it’s an enabler.” She adds, “At WM5G, our diverse team brings together deep expertise from across health, care, technology and digital connectivity.
It’s this breadth of experience—and our track record of partnership and innovation—that means we’re seen as leaders in driving forward new models of digital care, not just in the UK, but internationally.”
Jennie’s leadership is grounded in humility and collaboration. “We’re not here to conquer—we’re here to connect. Our job is to honour the human experience, to make care more compassionate and more effective.” She invites others to join the conversation. “If you’re working in health, care, local authority, or medtech—and you’re interested in shaping what’s next—I’d love to hear from you.”
As WM5G expands its work, Jennie is focused on evaluating key metrics—safety, satisfaction, cost-effectiveness, and time saved—to help shape best practice, not just in the UK, but on the international stage. “We’re building partnerships across health, care, and tech. This is just the beginning.” For business leaders outside health, the lessons are clear. Investment in digital infrastructure is not optional—it’s essential. Whether you’re in healthcare, logistics, education, or finance, the ability to connect people, share data, and deliver services at scale depends on the networks you build.
Jennie’s closing thought is a call to action:
“Technology is only as good as the values behind it. At WM5G, we believe in putting people first—and in building the digital foundations that make innovation possible for everyone, everywhere.”