Fears mount NHS innovation has been “sent packing to the basement”

With NHSX and NHS Digital folded into NHSE/I, experts question whether it’ll slow the delivery of new technologies or unleash a new era of fast-paced change

NHS app on a smartphone

The recent integration of NHSX and NHS Digital into NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I) has sparked concerns about whether it will slow down technological advancements or open the door to a new phase of rapid development in the NHS.

Background

In November, the government merged NHSX and NHS Digital into a unified entity now known as NHSE/I. Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that this consolidation would put “digital transformation at the heart of the NHS.”

NHS Digital, established in 2013, was responsible for providing information, data, and IT systems for healthcare services across England. NHSX, which launched in early 2019 under then-health secretary Matt Hancock, aimed to set national policies and best practices for digital technology and data within the NHS. Initially, there were concerns that NHSX would overlap with NHS Digital’s responsibilities. However, just over two years later, both organizations have been dissolved, raising fears that digital innovation has lost its prominence in the NHS.

Concerns About Centralization

Experts worry about the future for thousands of employees, speculating that the restructuring may lead to job redundancies and overlapping responsibilities. There are also concerns that centralizing these roles might hinder innovation and reduce transparency. Jon Hoeksma, editor-in-chief at Digital Health, quoted a Trust CIO who suggested that digital services, despite their achievements, have been “relegated to IT and pushed back to the basement.”

Diverging Views on the Restructuring

While some fear the reorganization will stifle innovation, others see it as a positive step. Amanda Pritchard, the NHS Chief Executive, argues that the change emphasizes the critical role of digital transformation in improving NHS services, including addressing service backlogs through new technologies. Sam Shah, former director of digital development for NHSX and NHS England, also sees it as a normal reorganization. Shah, now Chief Medical Strategy Officer at Numan, a digital health company specializing in men’s healthcare, believes that since NHSX was always a part of NHS England, the move is more of a rebranding exercise. For NHS Digital, which already had a close relationship with NHS England, it is simply a shift to a new structure.

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Shah emphasizes that the focus should now be on using this opportunity to develop a forward-looking strategy that attracts the expertise needed to drive technological transformation across the NHS. In summary, while there is anxiety over the restructuring’s impact on innovation, there is also hope that it will enable a more integrated and streamlined approach to digital transformation within the NHS.

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