In July last year, Lord Darzi conducted an investigation that found the NHS to be in ‘critical condition’. Following the findings of the report, the UK government have since put together a plan to address the critical challenges and neglect of the NHS in recent years.

The release of ‘Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England’ promises a new era for the NHS, helping make healthcare more accessible for the public and bringing care closer to home.

The 10 Year Health Plan outlines a variety of new initiatives, including the transformation of the NHS App, helping improve access, empowerment and care planning for patients.

In a press release yesterday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke of the announcement, stating, ‘Our 10 Year Health Plan will fundamentally rewire and future-proof our NHS so that it puts care on people’s doorsteps, harnesses game-changing tech and prevents illness in the first place.’

In the lead-up to the official announcement, we hosted our HPN Midlands event last week, bringing together senior healthcare leaders to discuss the most pressing challenges facing the NHS today. During our closing keynote, Ming Tang, Interim Chief Digital & Information Officer, and Chief Data & Analytics Officer at NHS England explored the future of healthcare and the role of digital innovation in shaping the NHS of tomorrow, in line with the ambitions of the 10 Year Plan.

Here are some of the key takeaways…

Data and the three shifts

‘Kicking off the discussion, Ming discussed the 10 Year Health Plan and how the three radical shifts are all fundamentally underpinned by digital and data.
The three major shifts include:

1. Hospital care to community care
2. Analogue to digital
3. Sickness to prevention

Although these shifts are set to transform the NHS, Ming emphasised that it’s not just about moving from analogue to digital, but about harnessing data to generate insights that drive better decision-making and increase efficiency.

In order to do this, senior leaders need to focus on building solid business cases when introducing new technology and practices. She explained, ‘You need to really drive the benefits, and the best way to do that is to really go into those digital transformations with a view of what outcome you’re trying to get to.’ She continued, ‘It’s not just putting a bit of tech in, we should be trying to change a process that actually helps improve colleagues’ lives.’

Building a digitally enabled NHS

Ming then talked about the complexities of the current system, and the need to build bridges in order to deliver a more connected NHS. She noted, ‘The NHS is so complicated, so in a way we are a victim of our own success… the variability within the NHS gives us the flexibility, but it also creates real problems when you’re trying to do things at scale.’

Many local trusts have already implemented their own initiatives based on their local communities, so many question whether national initiatives are really within their best interest.

However, driving meaningful change at a national level requires collective effort and coordination. As Ming explained, ‘We need to connect not just the systems, but the people and the processes.’

Reimagining the citizen’s experience

So how can we deliver true transformation whilst still delivering a personal service for each community?

The main aim of the 10 Year Health Plan is to give the public greater agency in the NHS. By building a digitally enhanced and patient centric NHS, the public will be able to:

• Stay safe at home
• Access and manage services
• Get care when they need it
• Participate in healthcare
• Engage in preventative care

Overall, the 10 Year Health Plan has been designed to make the patient’s life easier and more aligned to the realities of modern life. As Ming stated, ‘Our job is to convert that kind of experience into a set of processes that actually works for the NHS. A set of processes that reduce the demand or manage the demand differently and make sure our clinicians can see their patients in the right place for the customer, or the patient to be able to attend services in the place that’s convenient to them.’

She also talked about the plan for creating a Neighbourhood Health Service, helping create a more localised, personalised model of care. ‘A lot of the things that are coming out of the 10 Year Health Plan is using digital and data to really drive better connectivity. I’m really excited by the neighbourhood team idea… That will give us the locality component of tailoring services to be able to bring the NHS as a local service to our patients.’

The Single Patient Record (SPR)

Another key takeaway from the discussion was the introduction of the Single Patient Record (SPR) – a major initiative announced in 2024 to unify patient records across all points of care.

While the project has sparked some scepticism from healthcare professionals – particularly around the idea of another centralised programme – Ming remained optimistic. ‘I think this has the opportunity to really change the way that we think about patient journeys and it’s actually a foundation block to the way we can digitalise those services’, she explained. ‘All we’re trying to do is stitch up a unified record for wherever patients have interactions with the NHS, whether that’s a community pharmacist, GP practice, acute care, emergency services, transferring ambulance, domiciliary care or social care.’

This initiative has the potential to not only repair the disconnection between systems but also lighten the burden for patients and their families. Ming shared a personal example, highlighting the emotional toll for families having to repeat medical information when their loved ones are unwell. ‘The number of times we were telling the same story to different components of the service was really tiring, particularly when you’re worried about the individual as well. So, think about this as a way of having your health record in your pocket, enabling the patients to have that in their pocket, and using the NHS app so that we can surface that safely.’

Join our future discussions

This discussion offered valuable insight into what lies ahead for the NHS over the next decade. A big thank you to Ming Tang for sharing her expertise and thought-provoking perspective.

If you want to take part in future discussions, register your interest to join us at HPN South on 16-17 October!