'It's reform or die': Technology key in Government's 10-year plan for NHS

In the plan, the government pledges to put the NHS at the forefront of health data, AI, genomics, wearables and robotics, describing them as “five big bets to drive healthcare reform”.

NHS England - North East and Yorkshire says that digital transformation is already underway in the region, with services across the area using technology to “improve care for patients”.

Virtual wards and wearable technologies are supporting the shift from hospital to community care, for example, whilst apps and digital tools are supporting a change in focus from treating illness to helping people to stay healthy in the first place, whilst potentially detecting conditions earlier too.

“From artificial intelligence tools reducing diagnostic workloads to robotic surgery streamlining complex procedures – digital technologies are freeing up clinicians to focus on care where it’s needed most, supporting better outcomes and enabling a more efficient NHS,” the regional team says.

The government’s plan follows Lord Darzi’s diagnosis of the challenges facing the NHS last year when he assessed it was in a “critical condition” as a result of issues including low productivity, poor staff morale, a failure to keep up with new technology, rising waiting times and a deterioration in the health of the nation.

Making the plan a reality is not going to be without its challenges however, with the government recognising that the NHS needs a new operating model, a workforce with staff who are “genuinely aligned with the future direction of reform”, and a reshaped innovation strategy.

Helen Hughes, an associate professor at Leeds University Business School and director of the school’s Behaviour Lab, studies the way that people work and seeks to understand how technology fits into and changes that, including within healthcare.

“Technology on its own is just a piece of kit,” Dr Hughes says. “But even the most trivial bits of kit usually change the way people work together or change the way a patient receives care. And so as a psychologist, I’m interested in how it does that, how it changes the way people work and whether people like it.”

“If you want technology to thrive, you have to understand the social system it’s going into,” she adds.

To this end, Dr Hughes says the NHS deals well with new technologies that simply replace an existing process and do not affect the infrastructure or operation of the healthcare system more generally. Take, for example, a letter being written by AI software rather than a human.

But many technologies require more “disruption” she says, and “I think the big challenge for the NHS is it can’t pivot quickly. There are so many structures and processes that have to be followed, some for very good reason. But I think there’s a question at this point around what needs to happen and where that pivoting is being restricted.”

“There are some fantastic technologies available that can do really incredible things,” Dr Hughes continues. “But all of them disrupt that sociotechnical system that is the NHS. The technology should never just be considered for its merits on its own. Because implementation is everything.”

In its plan, the government pledges to take the NHS “from global laggard to global leader in technology”, with a strategy focused on where innovation can most drive healthcare reform.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting says: “The science is on our side, with genomics, artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data offering us the potential to predict and prevent illness and personalise treatment. This plan will unlock that potential, marrying the very best of British science and innovation with a reformed NHS.”

Delivering the plan will not be easy, he acknowledges, but then neither was the health service’s very creation…