David Brown Wins Digital Leader Award at 2026 Digital Health & Care Awards
David Brown, Digital Telecare Business Relationship Manager at the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government, has been named the Digital Leader of the Year at the 2026 Digital Health & Care Awards (DHAC). The Digital Telecare Programme Team was also honoured to be named a finalist in the Digital Health and Care Team of the Year Award category, recognising the progress achieved across the national programme through collaborative work with our partners.
The Digital Leader Award recognises David’s outstanding leadership in driving Scotland’s analogue-to-digital telecare transformation. The award is not only a personal honour for David but also a proud milestone for the Digital Office and its Digital Telecare Team, highlighting their collective impact on Scotland’s digital health and care progress.
David Brown shared credit for his award “I’m incredibly grateful to be acknowledged alongside so many amazing colleagues working to improve health and social care in Scotland. This award also belongs to the brilliant people I work with every day at the Digital Office and our partners, whose commitment, collaboration and drive to make a difference is genuinely inspiring.” His remarks underscore the “Once for Scotland” approach, a spirit of one-team collaboration across local authorities, care providers, and government partners, that has defined Scotland’s digital telecare transition.
Martyn Wallace, Chief Digital Officer and Senior Responsible Officer for Digital Telecare, praised David’s achievement as a win for the whole community. “This is a fantastic recognition both individually for David, and a recognition of the collective national effort behind Scotland’s analogue-to-digital telecare transition. David’s leadership exemplifies the culture and innovation and partnership that the Digital Office strives to foster in public services”.
The Digital Leader Award recognises individuals who create the culture and conditions for largescale digital transformation. David earned this recognition through his leadership of Scotland’s national telecare digital transformation programme, guiding local authorities, health and social care partnerships and housing providers through the move from ageing analogue systems to modern, resilient digital services.
As the UK’s analogue telephone network approaches switch off in January 2027, Scotland is well positioned. Under David’s stewardship, national initiatives such as the Shared Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) programme have strengthened resilience, reduced risk and enabled even the smallest providers to benefit from a secure, cloud-based infrastructure.
David’s award reflects not only personal leadership, but the collective achievement of the Digital Office, its partners and the wider telecare community, demonstrating what can be delivered through clear vision, collaboration and a shared commitment to protecting Scotland’s most vulnerable citizens.
