The stark challenges set out in Lord Darzi’s NHS review published just last week are still reverberating. In short, Darzi argued that the NHS is now in a “critical condition,” and must take “much bolder” measures to prevent illness.
Next spring the government plans to set out a 10-year NHS transformation plan, it will focus on transitioning care from hospitals to communities and shifting focus from sickness to prevention.
Digital transformation has been called out by both Darzi and the government as being at the heart of this programme.
The challenge of the NHS’s digital transition cannot be understated though. As one of the world's largest employers, its size,structure and huge estate of fragmented, legacy IT systems, arguably makes it the toughest digital transformation project ever seen.
A digital NHS must be a secure and resilient NHS, from its digital infrastructure to the end-user apps. Patients and NHS staff must feel safe as they shift to a new, digital-first experience, and confident in their ability to engage with and use digital tools.
We see daily reminders in the media of the scale and disruption cyber-attacks cause to public services. The forthcoming Cyber Security and Resilience Bill should play a crucial role in ensuring the new NHS puts security and resilience at the heart of its digitisation plans.
There needs to be a clear strategy driving digitisation. Prioritising working more smartly with digitisation offers the potential for the NHS to become more productive, a key challenge outlined in Lord Darzi’s report.
Tech should make it easier for the brilliant teams in the NHS to deliver care and a renewed focus is needed to identify and tackle any instances of tech becoming a barrier – stories of lengthy waits to log on to IT systems shouldn’t happen.
Tech should also facilitate the wider vision the government has set out for the NHS and the need to broaden its remit from illness to prevention. Tech can facilitate the citizen engagement and data analysis that’s needed for this. Tech should also facilitate a joined-up approach between the NHS and other public services that will greatly enhance the impact on illnessprevention.
According to Ofcom’s 2022 Online Nation Report, approximately 42.5 million UK adults use apps on their smartphone or tablet devices. Imagine if UK adults used the NHS App to track their key health indicators – blood pressure, cholesterol – and the impact this would have on their general health and wellbeing, not to mention the opportunity to spot issues before they become a problem for the individual.
Crucially it could also support the ambition to shift to a more community-led healthcare model, where virtual wards are the norm.
It's not just about having the right tech, it’s about the ability to use it well. Industry and government have defined 20 digital tasks essential for work. Future Dot Now, an organisation bringing companies together to tackle digital skills challenges, shared research that over half (54%) of working adults still cannot perform all 20.
To help address this, Cisco runs a nationwide Networking Academy digital skills programme, which is open tothe general public and has trained 100,000 people across the UK in the past year. It also has a dedicated programme for NHS staff, in collaboration with the Open University, focused on developing practical skills for NHS employees.
Lastly, a digital NHS needs to be AI ready and fit for the future. Cisco’s recent AI Readiness Index showed that 97% of companies agree the urgency to deploy AI-powered technologies has increased. AI offers game-changing potential in terms of productivity and the NHS needs to be ready to embrace that innovation.
The NHS needs to be on front foot with trialling new and emerging technologies – this is where tech companies like Cisco can really step up. Take the Lister Alliance, an innovation programme developed and funded by Cisco’s Country Digital Acceleration initiative which has recently created three ‘Living Labs’ working directly with NHS staff to trial new technologies.
Delivering digital transformation at the scale and pace needed however, is a challenge that cannot be addressed without new thinking and a myriad of players; tech companies, public services, academia, new and emerging tech. All working together in partnership, forming an ecosystem that puts innovation ahead of fear of failure.
The Darzi report should be a wakeup call to the NHS and all organisations that work with it. The scale of the challenge is immense, but I’m convinced that tech can play a central role in facilitating a brighter future for healthcare in the UK.
