Are you a client?
Sign in to view the full news archive.
Results from a recent NHS Providers survey reveal the scale of the digital transformation challenges facing NHS trusts. The results call into doubt the UK government’s ability to deliver its three big shifts in the NHS: from hospital to community, sickness to prevention, and analogue to digital.
The survey was conducted at a time when Integrated Care Boards are being told to reduce their running costs by 50 per cent by Q3 2025-26 and trusts have been told to cut “corporate services” budgets back to pre-pandemic levels. It received responses from 160 executives across 114 different trusts.
When asked if trusts and systems have sufficient funding have sufficient funding to invest in digital transformation, 81% of respondents said they disagreed (30%) or strongly disagreed (51%). Just 7% agreed and 1% strongly agreed to the statement (9% were unsure and 2% didn’t know).
The shift from sickness to prevention is also at risk, with 88% of respondents stating that they disagreed (42%) or strongly disagreed (46%) that trusts and systems have sufficient funding to invest in prevention and help manage future demand growth. Only 12% of respondents were confident they have sufficient access to capital to deliver a positive environment for staff, patients and service users.
Nearly half (47%) of respondents said they were scaling back service provision to deliver their financial plans this year, with a further 43% stating that this was currently under consideration. Virtual wards—a key component in the shift from hospital to community-based care—were identified by NHS Providers as one of the services most at risk. A significant proportion of respondents (26%) said that some services would need to be closed, with a further 55% stating that this was currently being considered.
Digital initiatives are also likely to be impacted by staffing cuts and recruitment freezes. The vast majority (86%) of respondents said they will have to cut substantive non-clinical posts, and over a third (37%) said their organisation will cut substantive clinical posts. Most respondents (85%) said a recruitment freeze was currently being considered. NHS Providers reported that several trusts are aiming to remove 500 posts or more, with one planning to cut around 1,000 jobs.
NHS organisations are still focusing on recovering core services and productivity following the pandemic, whilst responding to demands to reduce running costs. They are also dealing with the uncertainty created by the abolition of NHS England (see Tech implications of abolishing NHS England) and the wait for the publication of the 10 Year Health Plan and Spending Review 2025.
Despite these challenges and the reported lack of funding to invest in digital transformation, digital, data and technology (particularly artificial intelligence) remains at the heart of the government’s plans for the NHS. Although NHS organisations have been tasked with making full use of digital tools to drive the shift from analogue to digital, they face many competing priorities and will look towards those suppliers whose solutions can demonstrably reduce costs and boost productivity.
Posted by: Dale Peters at 09:54
Tags:
nhs
strategy
funding
health
survey
healtcare
digital+transformation