As the NHS approaches its 80th anniversary, what opportunities do digital solutions present for transforming health services, including enhancing staff experiences, streamlining corporate services, and improving patient workflows while also safeguarding digital infrastructures and reducing costs?
The National Health Service (NHS) is a cornerstone of our society, a source of national pride, and a critical service for millions of people. Yet, as it approaches its 80th birthday in 2028, the NHS faces challenges that demand bold and transformative action. With the potential for £35 billion in savings through modernisation, the opportunity for a digital transformation has never been greater. Whilst the government’s ten-year plan is a promising move to support this opportunity, there are some more immediate actions which can make a big difference.
Encouragingly, Ministers have already demonstrated their willingness to support the UK health sector. The abolishment of NHS England and the focus on three critical shifts –moving from ‘hospital to community,’ ‘analogue to digital,’ and ‘sickness to prevention’ –demonstrate the government’s commitment to ushering in positive change. Delivering this vision will require strong partnerships, innovative thinking, and relentless focus to build a resilient healthcare system for the future.
Tech companies play a pivotal role in helping turn this vision into reality through close collaboration and cutting-edge technology. Collaborative partnerships will enable the NHS to transform the staff experience, streamline corporate services, enhance patient workflows, protect against digital vulnerabilities, and harness the power of AI to transform public health services.
As the Health Secretary Wes Streeting outlined recently, “a productive economy needs a productive health service.” And he’s right. The health service is combating inefficiencies, from data management to HR functions, and the government needs to tackle these head-on to unlock the full potential of the industry.
Transform the employee experience
The NHS is the UK’s largest employer, with a workforce of approximately 1.5 million staff – this means recruiting and onboarding can be a big challenge. Take the onboarding process for new hires, which can take up to 120 days to integrate new starters fully, but there are accessible, practical solutions.
The roll out of improved ‘staff passports’ would provide easy access to training materials and HR tools. Simple automations can cut HR interactions by 50%, speeding up the onboarding process by up to 70% and freeing up valuable time to allow staff to prioritise patient care. The savings potential is considerable. By integrating technology and AI into HR processes, the NHS can free up 29 million hours of staff time annually, potentially saving the NHS up to £750 million per year.
“With the potential for £35 billion in savings through modernisation, the opportunity for a digital transformation has never been greater. ”
Deliver federated corporate services
Looking more broadly, the potential cost savings are even bigger. The NHS spends £15.5bn annually – roughly 6.5% of the entire budget – on HR, Finance, IT, and broader corporate services, many of which run on disconnected and siloed technologies. To make the NHS fit for the future, technology solutions should be integrated across all trusts. This will increase
collaboration across teams, minimise the risk of technical issues with a backed-up, central database, and significantly reduce unnecessary costs. By standardising and modernising core functions, we can save up to £1.6bn a year to put back on the front line.
Improving the patient experience
By connecting disparate health and care data sources, including electronic health records, we can instantly reduce administrative burdens across the entire healthcare system. The implementation of a personalised patient portal, which enables people to manage their own data, would allow for seamless appointment booking and reduce pressure on GPs, helping to modernise the patient experience.
We’re already seeing encouraging evidence of how AI can transform services – virtual assistants and advanced AI-triaging systems are helping GP practices allocate appointments, addressing the 8AM phone rush directly. In fact, in these GP practices, the use of AI tools has resulted in a 30% reduction in missed appointments and up to a 73% reduction in waiting times for appointments, saving the NHS up to £345mn a year if applied more widely across the country.
Protect Trusts against digital vulnerabilities
While the opportunity for cost efficiencies within the NHS is significant, we also need to acknowledge that the health service, like any other organisation, is vulnerable to external threats. We live in an increasingly digital and uncertain world, and the threat of cyberattacks is growing. Cyberattacks on healthcare systems can put individuals’ data at risk.
The government has an opportunity to utilise a trusted single AI platform to enhance security and streamline systems across the NHS and public health. The establishment of a digital control tower, enabling realtime monitoring and responses to service outages or
threats, could significantly boost efficiency and free up employees’ time to continuously improve patient care.
The NHS stands at a pivotal moment, and the prize for capturing these opportunities is enormous, as would be the cost of failing to do so. Through a comprehensive digital transformation, the NHS can unleash its full potential, transforming and improving both the
employee and customer experience.
