There’s digital progress in the NHS, but are we leaving people behind?

In 2022, NHS England officially merged with NHS Digital to help transform working practices, find efficiencies and improve patient outcomes. The move highlights the ongoing transformation of the operating model and culture, putting data and digital technology at the heart of the NHS.

These changes hold immense promise, but they also raise critical questions for healthcare leaders:

How can they use technology to empower patients and staff and ultimately improve health outcomes?
How can they ensure equitable access to these new digital tools so patients and staff don’t get left behind?
With the rapid pace of change, how can they develop a sustainable digital-first culture within the NHS workforce?

Together with Censuswide, we set out to answer these questions. We surveyed 1,000 senior decision-makers in public healthcare, across clinical, IT and administrative staff to learn more about how the sector is responding to changes and how technology can contribute to better staff and patient outcomes.

While 84% of decision-makers believe the pace of technology adoption is happening fast enough to meet the increasing patient demand, there are still concerns.

86% of respondents call for further investment in digital skills for the NHS workforce, suggesting that leaders recognise the risk of some being left behind.

Meanwhile, a proportion of patients are being excluded from reaching critical support services because they don’t have the tools or skills to access them.

In fact, 34% of NHS decision-makers believe that closing this digital gap could take up to a decade.

This report delves into these challenges and opportunities, exploring what the road ahead looks like for decision makers looking to cultivate a digital-first culture and make healthcare accessible to everyone.