Tech Innovation in Homecare Conference 2025

Chief Executive, Homecare Association

Jane Townson is CEO of the Homecare Association. She has extensive experience in the social care, health, housing and technology sectors. Chair of the Board of Kraydel; formerly CEO Somerset Care Group; and Chairman YourLife (JV with McCarthy & Stone). Jane’s first career was in international leadership roles in research and development in ICI, AstraZeneca and Syngenta, where she was Global Head of Bioscience Research. She then established her own business providing consultancy and training on the link between lifestyle factors and public health, working with private individuals and public sector organisations.

Chair: Applied Health and Care Research; Dame Kathleen Raven
Chair in Clinical Research, University of Leeds, Leeds UK.

Carl Thompson is Professor of Applied Health and Social Care Research at the University of Leeds a core partner of NIHR SSCR@Leeds and NICHE-Leeds, an academic-care sector research partnership based on the Dutch "Living Lab" model.

Carl has led pioneering work at the intersection of health technology, implementation science, and adult social care. He is Principal Investigator of SENSITISE, a national programme exploring how older people and care professionals prioritise the features of technology-enabled care (TEC), and he has advised care providers, local authorities, and national bodies on the implementation of TEC to improve safety, quality, and independence in domiciliary and residential settings.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Carl led the first study of wearable technology enabled contact-tracing in care homes (The CONTACT trial). 

Carl’s work spans empirical research, policy influence, and implementation support — from evaluating remote monitoring for falls prevention in care homes, to shaping data-sharing infrastructures that support ethical, actionable insights from real-world care data. His focus is not only on what technologies can do, but on how and why they are (or aren’t) adopted in the human, complex systems of social care.

He is a frequent advisor to the NIHR, UKRI, and international research councils, and continues to advocate for evidence-based, user-centred innovation in homecare and community support for older people.

MSc Education, PGCPD, BSc (Hons) Professional Practice, Dip Nursing studies RGN
Director & Registered Manager StellarCare NW LTD
Championing Social Care Ambassador | Board Member, Partners in Care

Stella Shaw is a registered nurse and founder of StellarCare NW, an award-winning, nurse-led home care provider delivering complex and compassionate care across Cheshire & Wirral. With over two decades of experience in cardiology, academia, and project management, Stella blends clinical expertise with innovative models of service delivery. Passionate about reimagining home care, she leads on integrating technology to reduce hospital admissions and support people to live well at home.

Owner & CEO, 1st Homecare
Chair of the Board, Homecare Association

John’s first career was as a Chartered Accountant working in London, Madrid and Johannesburg. He then decided to move into the Care sector by buying 1st Homecare in 2012 so that he could make a real difference to people’s lives.

Since 2012 John has grown 1st Homecare which now has three offices and a Live-in service operating in Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire. Most clients are self-funders but also include clients commissioned by four different Local Authorities.

John firmly believes in the need for good regulation so that all Providers perform to the same minimum standards and believes that a key role of the Association is to work closely with the CQC, the new Labour Government and its other agencies to this end.

His spare time is taken up with the demands of two school age children, tennis, cycling and hill walking.

Founder & Medical Director, Home Visit Healthcare
Co-Founder, Care Boodle
Chair, Community Hospital Association

Dr Kirsten Protherough is a GP with a special interest in frailty, dementia, and positive ageing. She is the Founder and Medical Director of Home Visit Healthcare, a CQC-registered service providing home-based medical care and virtual frailty reviews.  She until recently was Chair of the Community Hospital Association, working nationally with NHS and social care partners to champion innovation in community and intermediate care.

She leads Upskill for Frailty, an education platform designed to upskill domiciliary care staff and managers in recognising, responding to, and preventing frailty crises, helping to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions. Kirsten is passionate about bridging the gap between health and social care, and is now developing Careboodle with 2 Co-founders Liz Blacklock and Stella Shaw, a digital support tool to help carers detect and respond to delirium in real time. With her clinical, leadership and innovation experience, she brings both frontline insight and strategic vision to improving the future of care.

Kirsten co-leads the E-learning Frailty Course for the University of Worcester, which is now on its 9th Cohort.

Cofounder, Lingly.ai

Henry Popiolek is the cofounder of Lingly.ai, an innovative language learning platform designed specifically for the care sector. A linguist who speaks multiple European languages, Henry has channelled his experience into helping international care workers overcome the communication barriers they face on the job.

Lingly’s research shows that 9 out of 10 complaints in home care stem from language issues, highlighting how little structured support international staff receive- despite working in a profession where clear communication is essential. From navigating local accents to mastering technical vocabulary, care staff face challenges that go far beyond traditional language learning.

Lingly is tackling this head-on. Their platform has already supported hundreds of displaced workers and care professionals, and their mission is clear: to solve the language barrier in adult social care.

Managing Director, Lapis Care

Liz Blacklock set up Lapis Care in 2015 after many years as a nurse in Primary Care. From the outset she used electronic care management, back when there were only a few systems to choose from. It’s now part of everyday practice, helping care professionals record clearly and escalate when needed, whilst giving families a snapshot of care and reassurance wherever they are in the world.

Liz has always been clear that technology is there to support the professional, not replace them, and that approach has helped Lapis build a steady reputation for reliable, consistent care over almost ten years.

CEO, London Autism Group Charity
Principal Lecturer in Public Health, University of Bedfordshire

Dr Chris Papadopoulos is a public health academic and charity leader with a strong track record of research and thought leadership on the application of artificial intelligence, robotics, and technology in health and social care. He co-authored Transcultural Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Health and Social Care (Elsevier, 2022), and led the UK arm of the EU–Japan CARESSES trial, the first randomised controlled trial testing culturally competent AI-embedded socially assistive robots in older adult care homes. His research has also explored large language models in social care, ethical boundaries in AI, and the potential of technology-enabled care to improve outcomes for older people.

Chris is also one of the most active commentators internationally on the application and use of AI and large language models for autistic and neurodivergent people, with multiple recent papers in Neurodiversity exploring both opportunities and risks. Few have written more extensively on this theme.

He has been invited to speak on these subjects at major platforms including the Care Show, UK Care Week, Future of Care Leaders Conference, European Social Services Conference, The King’s Fund, and the Royal College of Physicians. He also advises governments, regulators and professional bodies on technology-enabled care, including as expert advisor to the Scottish Government’s Care Inspectorate for Technology Enabled Care and evaluator for the European Commission’s Public Health Best Practices scheme.

Beyond technology, Chris is a recognised voice in neurodiversity and mental health, author of Voices of Neurodiversity: An Inclusive Encyclopaedia (Routledge, 2025), and CEO of the London Autism Group Charity. His work combines academic rigour, lived experience, and practical insights into how innovation can be harnessed inclusively to deliver better, fairer systems of care.

Digital Projects Lead for the Digital Care Hub

Katie is the Digital Projects Lead for the Digital Care Hub. For social care providers, by social care providers, the Digital Care Hub provides free guidance and support to care organisations on technology, data protection and cyber security.

Katie has played a significant role in advocating for and implementing digital solutions in social care and is the co-convener of the Oxford Project on the Responsible Use of Generative AI in Adult Social Care.  Her work focuses on ensuring that digital innovations in social care are used ethically and effectively.

Her background includes working in nursing homes as both a carer and in operations.

Katie has been recognised for her work supporting care providers by receiving The Woman in Tech award at the Women Achieving Greatness in Social Care (WAGS) awards (2022) and the NHS England Award in the Public Service Category of the National Cyber Awards (2023).

Business Development Lead, First City Care Group

Olly has nearly 20 years’ experience in adult social care, working across Local Authorities, the NHS, and with community care providers. His roles have focused on commissioning and transformation, always with the aim of shaping services that are flexible for people who need support and provide great career pathways for those delivering care.

Olly is particularly passionate about how technology and AI can help create more responsive and adaptable models of community care and commissioning. He believes digital tools and smarter approaches have the potential to improve outcomes for people, while also making care more sustainable and rewarding for the workforce.

One Birdcage Walk

Westminster, London, SW1H 9JJ