Opening Wales 2025: A Summit Built on Dialogue, Compassion, and Data-Driven Purpose

The first morning of the Health Data Forum Global Hybrid Summit 2025 in Wales opened not with ceremony, but with intention. As participants filled the room, Paul Nunesdea — certified professional facilitator and creator of global spaces of dialogue — set the tone for what the next two days would represent: a collective effort to think together, question together, and build together. This year's Summit didn't start at 9:00; it had already begun the day before, with a closed deep-dive session crafting the first draft of a Joint Charter on the Secondary Use of Health Data, a process that will continue through Friday and beyond.

From the outset, the message was clear: this gathering is not a conference — it's a collaboration. And Wales, with its culture of partnership, prudent healthcare principles, and national commitment to compassionate leadership, is uniquely positioned to host it.

"Our Goal Is to Help Each Other Learn" — George Mathew's Opening Message

Because he could not attend in person, Dr. George Mathew, Chair of the Health Data Forum Advisory Board and President of the Mathew Foundation, opened the Summit through a recorded message. His words were simple but profound:

"Each of us brings our own experiences, and each of us has something to learn from the other."

His welcome underscored a core tenet of the Data First, AI Later movement:
that transformation is not achieved by technology alone, but through shared insight, humility, and cross-sector collaboration.

Why Wales? A Health System Rooted in Data, Compassion, and Community

The first keynote speaker, Helen Thomas, CEO of Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW), offered participants a panoramic view of Wales as both a health system and a cultural ecosystem.

With more than 35 years in the NHS, including decades in health informatics, Helen spoke with the authority of someone who has lived through the evolution from paper records to digital analytics — and with the humility of someone who still describes herself as "a proud health informatician."

Her message centred on three pillars:

1. A Unified National Vision

Wales operates as a small but tightly connected nation of just over three million people. The combination of:

• seven health boards,

• three national trusts,

• two special health authorities, and

• a coherent national policy direction

creates a system where shared digital infrastructure is not only possible, but essential.

2. Prudent Healthcare as an Ethical Foundation

Wales' health policy — A Healthier Wales — is grounded in prudent healthcare, a framework rooted in:

• co-production with citizens,

• evidence-based care,

• reducing harm and variation,

• prioritising those in greatest need, and

• ensuring professionals work at the top of their license.

Helen articulated an elegant truth:

"You cannot achieve prudent healthcare without data — and you don't have data without digital systems."

3. The National Data Resource: Building the System Wales Needs

Helen introduced the National Data Resource (NDR) as one of Wales' flagship programmes:

• a federated architecture,

• a platform for the single patient record,

• an engine for national analytics,

• and a critical enabler of AI deployment inside clinical workflows.

From the NHS Wales App to digital medicines, diagnostics, and community care, Helen framed digital as the connective tissue of a health system reshaping itself around prevention, equity and well-being.

The Ethical Engine Behind Transformation: Michael West's Compassionate Leadership Keynote

The Summit's opening theme then shifted from data systems to human systems, with a powerful remote keynote by Prof. Michael West (King's Fund; Lancaster University).

His message:
Data-driven healthcare cannot succeed without compassionate cultures.

Drawing on decades of research — including leadership of the world's largest health workforce survey — Michael shared evidence showing that:

• staff engagement is the single strongest predictor of healthcare performance;

• compassionate leadership lowers burnout, reduces errors and improves patient outcomes;

• well-structured teams are more innovative, safer, and up to 40% more productive;

• psychological safety is a prerequisite for adopting new technologies;

• and compassion is not soft — it is the most powerful clinical intervention we possess.

Through examples from Wales, England and international systems, Michael demonstrated that compassionate cultures aren't a luxury; they are the operating system of high-performing health services.

One of his most memorable insights was directed not at organisations, but at individuals:

"To be truly compassionate to others, we must practice self-compassion first."

This reminder resonated strongly in a room full of leaders navigating burnout, complexity, and the pressure to deliver transformation at scale.

Why Data Matters: A Narrative of Action, Not Just Infrastructure

After the keynote, Ifan Evans, Executive Director of Strategy at DHCW, delivered an energising and highly accessible talk that bridged the world of data engineering with the world of public understanding.

Ifan's keynote reaffirmed a fundamental principle:

"Data only changes healthcare if someone uses it."

Using vivid metaphors — from warehouse archives to languages at home to IMAP email — Ifan explained the difference between a data sharing architecture (fragmented, duplicative, hard to scale) and a shared data architecture (coherent, simple, persistent, resilient).

This is the foundation for Wales' National Data Resource, a system designed to:

• create a single source of truth,

• avoid vendor lock-in,

• reduce duplication,

• and protect data for the long term ("Data is for life, not just for Christmas").

Ifan's clarity helped participants understand not only what Wales is building, but why it matters to clinicians, policymakers and the public.

A Summit That Begins with Purpose — and Belongs to Everyone

By the end of the opening session, the narrative had come fully into focus:

• Wales is small, but bold.

• Data infrastructure is essential, but not enough.

• Compassionate leadership is not a theme — it's a competency.

• And the Health Data Forum exists not to broadcast, but to convene.

The day opened exactly as intended:
not with speeches to be consumed, but with ideas to be shared — and with a call for every participant to be a co-creator of the work ahead.

As Paul reminded guests:

"Wales is a place where dialogue is possible. By Friday, I hope we all discover why."

The next two days would prove him right.

Watch the full recording here: