Welcome to #OurEntrepreneurs, a series where we meet our innovators and uncover what inspired them to create change. Today, we’re delighted to introduce Abdullah Siddiqi, joining us from Manchester.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I am a pharmacist working in general practice and the CEO and Founder of Rapix Connect. Throughout my career in primary care, I have been passionate about improving the way healthcare professionals work together to deliver better outcomes for patients.
Working at the interface between GP surgeries and community pharmacies gave me first-hand insight into the operational challenges faced by both sectors. I became particularly interested in how digital technology could remove unnecessary barriers, reduce administrative burden, and enable more effective collaboration across primary care.
Name: Abdullah Siddiqi, NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Cohort 10
Occupation: Pharmacist and CEO at Rapix Connect
This passion led me to found Rapix Connect, which is now supporting multiple GP surgeries and community pharmacy groups across England. As an NHS Clinical Entrepreneur, I am committed to developing practical, clinician-led digital solutions that improve efficiency, strengthen collaboration, and enhance patient care across the NHS.
Tell us about your innovation
Rapix Connect is a digital platform that enables GP surgeries and community pharmacies to communicate with one another in real time, replacing inefficient manual processes with a simple, secure digital workflow.
The platform allows GP teams to identify where medicines are available locally, while enabling pharmacies to report shortages and suggest suitable alternatives they have in stock. This improves communication between primary care teams and helps resolve medication supply issues more efficiently.
The impact we hope to achieve extends beyond medication shortages. Our ambition is to create a nationally connected communication platform that strengthens collaboration between GP surgeries and community pharmacies, reduces unnecessary administrative workload, supports faster clinical decision-making, and ultimately improves patient experience and patient safety across the NHS.
What is the problem or challenge you are addressing in the NHS and why is it important?
One of the biggest operational challenges facing primary care is that GP surgeries and community pharmacies remain digitally disconnected, despite working closely together to care for the same patients. This communication gap becomes particularly evident during medication shortages, when healthcare professionals often rely on multiple telephone calls and emails to resolve issues.
These outdated processes consume valuable clinical time, increase administrative workload, delay access to medicines, and create frustration for both healthcare professionals and patients. As demand on primary care continues to grow, these inefficiencies become increasingly difficult to sustain.
Addressing this challenge is important because improving communication between healthcare professionals is fundamental to delivering safer, more efficient, and more integrated care. By providing better digital connectivity between GP surgeries and community pharmacies, we can help modernise everyday workflows, support frontline staff, and improve the experience of patients across the NHS.
Why did you join the programme and how do you hope it will support you?
I first became aware of the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme through the wider NHS innovation community while exploring how to bring Rapix Connect into more healthcare settings. As I learned more about the programme, it became clear that it was an excellent opportunity to learn from people who had successfully navigated the challenges of introducing innovation into the NHS.
I applied because I wanted to become a better healthcare innovator. As a practising pharmacist, I understand the clinical challenges facing primary care, but I also recognised the importance of developing my knowledge of entrepreneurship, implementation and leading change within the NHS.
What I have enjoyed most is becoming part of a community of clinicians who share a passion for improving healthcare through innovation. Being surrounded by people who are developing solutions to different NHS challenges has been incredibly motivating and has broadened my perspective on what is possible.
I hope the programme will continue to challenge my thinking and help me develop into a stronger healthcare entrepreneur and leader. Bringing innovation into the NHS requires more than developing a useful product; it also requires understanding procurement, adoption, clinical safety, regulation, partnerships and long-term sustainability.
I also hope to continue learning from the programme’s mentors and experts, gain honest feedback from experienced innovators, and build relationships with others who have successfully scaled digital health solutions. These insights will help me make better strategic decisions and maximise the impact that Rapix Connect can have across the NHS.
Ultimately, I hope the programme will equip me with the knowledge, confidence and network needed to transform Rapix Connect from a successful local innovation into a nationally adopted solution that benefits patients and frontline staff.
What are your ambitions for the year ahead?
Over the next year, my ambition is to expand Rapix Connect into significantly more GP surgeries and community pharmacies across England, building on the success we have already achieved in our early deployments. I want to continue demonstrating the value of improved communication between primary care teams through robust real-world evidence and measurable outcomes.
Alongside this, I plan to develop new functionality that further strengthens collaboration between GP surgeries and community pharmacies while ensuring the platform continues to meet the highest standards of clinical safety, information governance and usability.
Personally, I want to continue developing as both a pharmacist and an entrepreneur, applying everything I learn through the NHS Clinical Entrepreneur Programme to build a sustainable innovation that delivers lasting value to the NHS.
Why do you think innovation in healthcare is important?
Innovation is essential to ensuring the NHS can continue to deliver high-quality care in the face of growing demand, increasing complexity and limited resources. While the core principles of healthcare remain unchanged, the way we deliver care must continually evolve to meet the needs of patients and healthcare professionals.
For me, innovation is not about creating technology for the sake of it. It is about understanding the real challenges experienced by patients and frontline staff, then developing practical solutions that make healthcare safer, more efficient and more accessible. The best innovations are often simple ideas that remove barriers, improve communication and allow clinicians to spend more time focusing on patient care.
As a practising pharmacist, I believe clinicians have a unique role in driving innovation because we experience these challenges every day. By combining frontline clinical insight with entrepreneurship, we can develop solutions that not only solve today’s problems but also help shape a more connected, sustainable and patient-centred NHS for the future.