Meet Phil Blything, NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow and founder of SafeTeam. Combining expertise in real-time mobile communications with a passion for improving frontline safety, Phil is helping NHS organisations better protect healthcare professionals working in community settings. Through innovative technology that transforms existing NHS smartphones into a lone worker safety platform, SafeTeam is helping reduce risk, improve staff confidence, and support safer care delivery across the health system.
What is your innovation and what problem does it solve?
SafeTeam is a digital lone worker safety platform designed specifically for the NHS. It transforms existing NHS smartphones into a highly effective, discreet, and easy-to-use safety solution that helps protect frontline staff working in community and remote care environments.
The challenge it addresses is significant. Across England, NHS staff face an unacceptable level of violence and aggression, with frontline workers experiencing physical assaults on a regular basis. Community-based clinicians often work alone, visiting patients in a wide variety of settings where support may not be immediately available. Despite the scale of this challenge, many organisations continue to rely on fragmented or outdated approaches to staff safety.
SafeTeam enables healthcare professionals to access support quickly and discreetly when they feel at risk, while giving NHS organisations greater visibility, assurance, and oversight of workforce safety. By leveraging technology already in clinicians' hands, the platform removes barriers to adoption while helping healthcare providers protect staff more effectively and cost-efficiently.
“In England an NHS frontline worker is physically assaulted every 2 minutes. That's not OK. Our mission is to protect them.”
What inspired you to come up with this innovation? What motivates you?
The idea for SafeTeam emerged during an Innovate UK research project focused on real-time mobile communications technology. During that work, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust approached us to explore whether our proprietary technology could help reduce risks faced by NHS staff working in community settings.
What began as a technical challenge quickly became something much more meaningful. Through early pilots, we saw first-hand the realities that many healthcare professionals face when delivering care in unpredictable environments. Listening to the experiences of those who had encountered aggression, violence, or threatening situations highlighted just how important staff safety is. This is what drives our team every day.
“I became fascinated with the healthcare purpose and mission, the difficulties of making tech work in the NHS, and most of all, the human stories of folks facing violence as they do their best to look after us. We made it our mission.”
What does being an NIA Fellow mean to you?
Being selected as an NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow is both a privilege and an incredible opportunity – I’m thrilled! Beyond the fellowship cohort itself, there is also the invaluable support of previous Fellows, mentors, the NIA team, and the wider network of contacts. In my experience, the opportunity to both contribute to and learn from this community is second to none. The real challenge lies in converting this rare opportunity into meaningful commercial traction.
“Once the programme begins, it’s inspiring to be surrounded by such high-calibre innovators, each driven by a mission and vision that reinforces the feeling that you’re in exactly the right place.”
What are your hopes for the next five years?
Our commercial model is delivers significant improvements with each new NHS trust adoption. Having demonstrated its effectiveness at Alder Hey over the past five years, supported by more than 60 consecutive successful monthly tests, we are now focused on securing our next 4 trusts. This next phase will be transformational for the business, strengthening our ability to reduce risk across the NHS at a system level. Alongside this growth, we expect to drive employment, scale, growth, and accelerate the development of new products and services.
“I hope to see NHS frontline made safer; the job is tough enough as it is without facing violence unsupported.”
What would you say to another innovator who is interested in becoming an NIA Fellow?
My advice would be to make sure you are truly ready for the opportunity. Do not underestimate what you're applying for. You need to be ready, keep going until you are.
“If you're ready, be prepared to commit. This is not light touch. If that sounds like what you need, do it!”
Republished with Kind Permission of the NHS Innovation Accelerator.
NHS Innovation Accelerator
Fellow: Phil Blything
Meet Phil Blything, NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellow and founder of SafeTeam. Combining expertise in real-time mobile communications with a passion for improving frontline safety, Phil is helping NHS organisations better protect healthcare professionals working in community settings. Through innovative technology that transforms existing NHS smartphones into a lone worker safety platform, SafeTeam is helping reduce risk, improve staff confidence, and support safer care delivery across the health system.
