Thames Freeport is launching a new initiative that focuses on helping primary care teams such as GP surgeries to use technology that can make their work easier.
Backed by a £3.3 Government investment, the Health AI Mobilisation Centre, opening in early 2026, will deploy and showcase NHS-ready AI tools inside primary care settings across Thurrock, Havering, and Barking & Dagenham. This call out is designed for innovators but its purpose is better access and support for local residents.
Why Thames Freeport is doing this
Across the region of Havering, Thurrock and Barking and Dagenham, GP practices face rising demand, workforce pressure, and growing administrative burden. Communities with the greatest health needs often have the least access to digital health capability.
At the same time, hundreds of high-quality AI tools already exist but too many fail to scale because GP surgeries don’t have the time or support to safely adopt them.
Participants will help shape a playbook that sets out how GP practices can safely adopt these tools.
How will it support?
The Health AI Mobilisation Centre tackles that problem by creating a coordinated, scalable model for safely deploying AI where it can have immediate impact.
The Centre aligns with NHS England priorities around digitisation, data interoperability, and safe AI adoption.
By combining innovators, NHS partners, local authorities, and some of the UK’s best transformation experts, we are developing a model safely deploying AI where it can have immediate impact.
The focus is on supporting GP practices with tools that make an immediate difference in day-to-day care.
Who will benefit
Patients and communities
- Faster access to GP services
- More proactive, personalised care
- Better communication, especially for people facing language or accessibility barriers
- Reduced inequalities across our three boroughs
GP practices and NHS staff
- Tools that reduce pressure, automate admin, and free up clinical time
- Practical workforce training and wrap-around support
- Governance, integration and technical help to ensure safe adoption
Innovators and solution providers
- An opportunity to pilot technology in live NHS environments
- Access to multiple Primary Care Networks across East London
- Real-world evidence to support scale and future NHS procurement
- Direct collaboration with L Marks, PUBLIC, Avencera and local NHS partners
The wider region
- Growing a digital health capability anchored in the Thames Estuary
- Supporting local job creation, digital inclusion and long-term economic resilience
- Strengthening the Freeport’s leadership in socially minded innovation
What the Centre will do
The programme will support GP practices in two key ways:
1. Live deployment of AI solutions
Working closely with Together First CIC, Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), local Primary Care Networks, and local authorities. Selected innovators will embed their technologies into day-to-day operations within participating GP surgeries.
2. Workforce training and wrap-around support
Practices get hands-on training, technical integration support, and guidance on compliance, clinical safety, and responsible AI use.
The aim: safe deployment, real outcomes, and a model that other regions can adopt.
This is a delivery-focused programme designed to support GP practices in the region.
What we’re looking for
We’re inviting UK and international solution providers with high-readiness (TRL 7–9) tools that can make primary care more efficient, more inclusive, or more data-driven.
We especially welcome solutions focused on:
- Data Management, Capture & Structuring
Tools that improve data flow, interoperability and predictive planning. - Optimising Services
AI that enhances operational efficiency — from intelligent triage to rota optimisation. - Transforming Patient Experience
Tools that reduce waiting, improve communication and self-management, particularly for underserved groups.
Solutions must meet baseline compliance (DTAC, clinical safety, IG) and be ready for short, real-world deployment.
Why partner with Thames Freeport
Participants will:
- Showcase innovation in NHS primary care
- Generate evidence for scale and national adoption
- Access expertise from L Marks, PUBLIC, MH&A and NHS partners
- Develop a reusable model for safe AI mobilisation
- Engage with the Freeport’s broader innovation ecosystem, including industry and local authorities
- Strengthen the business case for long-term commercial pathways
Successful pilots may lead to multi-year adoption within GP practices across the region.
How the programme works
Stage 1 — Open Call & Scouting (4 Dec–7 Jan 2026)
Applications reviewed for innovation, feasibility, impact, and local relevance.
Stage 2 — Shortlisting
Internal assessment followed by expert partner review.
Stage 3 — Selection (w/c 12 Jan 2026)
Final innovators chosen for deployment.
Stage 4 — Pilot Delivery (Jan–Mar 2026)
Live implementation in GP surgeries with full support.
How this fits into Thames Freeport’s wider health innovation mission
The Health AI Mobilisation Centre is part of a broader shift at Thames Freeport to support healthier, more resilient communities while building digital capability across the region.
Alongside this programme, Thames Freeport is also launching the Mobile Health Innovation Platform (MHIP), a first of it’s kind pilot in the region that will bring AI-enabled preventative healthcare into underserved neighbourhoods using a dedicated Mobile Health Unit.
MHIP focuses on early diagnostics and prevention for long-term conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, generating real-world evidence for NHS adoption and reducing long-standing barriers to early care.
Together, the two programmes form a growing Health Innovation Ecosystem within the Freeport, using our logistics assets, partnerships, and data infrastructure to test technology in local areas, reduce inequalities, and ensure innovation benefits residents across Thurrock, Havering, and Barking & Dagenham.
Both initiatives advance the same mission:
connecting global innovation to local opportunity and improving people’s everyday lives through practical, inclusive solutions.
