Karen Payne

Karen Payne is a qualified nurse and Specialist Public Health Practitioner (Health Visiting) with more than 30 years of experience across the NHS. Her career has spanned emergency medicine, health visiting and commissioning, giving her a broad understanding of healthcare from both frontline and strategic perspectives. For the last seven years, Karen has focused on digital transformation, driven by a belief that technology can make a real difference to the experiences of patients and the working lives of healthcare staff. She is passionate about ensuring digital innovations are practical, inclusive and designed around the needs of those who use them. Karen is a graduate of both the NHS Digital Health Leadership Academy and the prestigious Topol Fellowship, becoming the first nurse to complete both programmes. These experiences have strengthened her commitment to helping nursing shape and lead the future of digital health. In February 2026, Karen left the NHS to take up the role of the R