We know the NHS is moving towards a more digitally driven future, yet digital transformation is still often seen as a burden rather than a benefit. Too often, digital tools are perceived as adding to workloads instead of improving efficiency. To change this, we need to highlight the positives – helping staff embrace new technologies and enabling leaders to empower their teams to work more effectively.

At HPN North, our expert panel explored workforce empowerment in the digital age, discussing everything from AI to the evolving doctor-patient relationship. During the discussion, our panellists talked about how we can make digital a positive force – one that transforms practice, enhances efficiency, and improves patient care.

Here are the key takeaways from the conversation…

AI and data literacy: equipping the NHS for the future

With the NHS 10-Year Plan underway, it’s important that leaders equip their staff with the right tools and skills for the future. However, with AI evolving at such a rapid pace, it can be hard for staff to keep up, and leaders are left wondering how to prepare their staff for an unpredictable future.

Philip Bottle, Managing Director at SARD JV, emphasised the need for a mindset shift. Rather than seeing AI as a tool to refine existing processes, organisations must recognise its power to completely transform how work is done. ‘If you’ve already got a lack of confidence in something that’s speeding off into the future, you’ve got to play catch up. And that catch up is a difficult thing, but I really think it’s about how you look at it,’ he explains. ‘We’ve got to be thinking about moving the needle completely away from just thinking that AI makes the current processes better, that actually it’s going to redefine processes.’

Shaukat Ali Khan, Chief Digital and Information Officer at NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board highlighted the urgency of upskilling staff across all levels of the NHS. ‘We need to upskill not only the digital staff, but every staff member in our system, right from the board members to executive management’ he stated. ‘AI is impacting each one of us on a daily basis. That means we need to upskill ourselves and we need to facilitate the institution to upskill with regards to this.’

To future-proof the NHS workforce, leaders need to look beyond AI’s immediate benefits and instead focus on its wider capabilities. AI-driven tools should not only be part of the workflow but also embedded in learning and development, helping to prepare the workforce of the future. Just as smartphones have reshaped everyday life beyond phone calls, AI will soon become indispensable in healthcare, and those who fail to adapt risk being left behind.

Rethinking training: why traditional methods are no longer enough

So, if we’re working towards a more digitally focused NHS, what does this mean for our training processes? During the discussion, our panellists talked about traditional training methods, like EPR training, and urged for a shift towards more innovative methods to better engage younger staff and make learning more interactive.

Shauna McMahon, Chief Information Officer at Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust emphasised the need for change, stating, ‘I think we need to shift how we educate people in the systems we’re bringing in.’ She highlighted the potential of game-based learning to improve engagement, asking, ‘could we not create a fun game for the nurses and physicians to get involved in, to learn about the systems where they get points and maybe there’s a prize at the end?’

By rethinking training methods and embracing interactive learning, we can better equip NHS staff for the future of digital healthcare.

The evolving doctor-patient relationship in a digital world

Traditionally, healthcare professionals were the patient’s main source of information when it came to healthcare, but with the rise of search engines and AI-powered tools, patients now have greater access to healthcare knowledge and medical information. Phil Wood, Chief Executive, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust acknowledged that this has led to a shift in dynamic between patients and healthcare professionals, with many clinicians still resistant to change. He explained, ‘Unless we have some honest conversations about the change in that culture, and the change fundamentally in that sense of power between patients and professionals, we will struggle with adoption.’

This transition is particularly crucial for future generations of healthcare workers, who will enter a world where digital tools are deeply embedded in everyday practice.

Balancing AI innovation with ethics and regulation in healthcare

One of the most significant challenges when it comes to AI is balancing innovation with ethics and regulation. Philip Bottle pointed out that that while AI tools like Co-Pilot have the potential to significantly improve efficiency, their adoption varies across NHS trusts. ‘I’ve spoken to various people today and a lot of you have talked very highly about Co-pilot. I’ve also spoken to people in trust where it’s banned, they can’t use it so they can’t see the gains that they can potentially get in reducing time in terms of building documentation and so on. But within each individual trust, there is someone that is either pro or against.’ This inconsistency across the NHS reflects broader concerns surrounding regulation and how to manage evolving technology, without stifling progress.

Unfortunately, as Philip pointed out, waiting for perfect regulation risks leaving the NHS behind. ‘If you wait for regulation, you will be so far behind where you need to be that it will be almost impossible to catch up.’ There is also a fear that overregulation in the NHS leaves space for private companies to dominate. He continued, ‘I know there’s a fear in the NHS and in the country, the private sector will take over the NHS and it won’t exist anymore. I think if you overregulate, that becomes way more of a reality because you have to imagine that these private healthcare companies are not going to wait. They’re going to start developing as soon as they can.’

The future of AI in healthcare decision-making

Towards the end of the session, an audience member posed a thought-provoking question: At what point will patients start to distrust clinicians who do not use AI?

There is still a fear amongst clinicians that they will eventually be replaced by AI, however panel host and Medical Director at Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber, Graham Walsh, suggested that ‘AI won’t replace doctors but actually doctors that use AI will replace the ones that don’t.’

Phil Wood suggested that while AI will significantly support clinical decision-making, the shift towards full autonomy is still a long way off. However, he suggested that in the future, it may become ‘increasingly untenable for a health professional to make a decision without the benefit that AI can bring to that decision making.’

Join our future discussions

The discussion made it clear that in order to future-proof its workforce – the NHS needs to act now. While there are still significant challenges ahead, the opportunity to harness technology for better patient care and a more empowered workforce is one that the NHS cannot afford to miss.

A big thank you to our panellists for their expertise and thought-provoking insights. If you’d like to take part in future discussions register your interest to join us at HPN Midlands and HPN Mental Health on 26-27 June!

Join us at HPN Midlands and Mental Health