Driving the digital shift in health: what to watch in the 10-year health plan

At the heart of the 10-Year Health Plan (10YHP) lies a decisive shift from analogue to digital, putting power in patients’ hands, enabling a shift to the Neighbourhood Health Service and moving from centralised control to empowered front-line delivery. These changes are not just strategic - they are essential.

1. A Smarter, Stronger NHS

This plan is different. If the NHS were a house, past plans either patched the roof or added flashy extensions. This one works through the foundations, making the ambition achievable and sustainable.

It also keeps the NHS true to its core: free at the point of use, focused on saving lives, and designed to remain the best health solution for citizens. While it’s easy to get lost in jargon like “patient-centricity” or “subscription models,” the real goal is simple: a smarter, stronger NHS that works for everyone.

 2. AI and Data: Time to Care, Time to Transform

Artificial Intelligence can free up time to care, improve patient experience, and support smarter decision-making. But its success depends on high-quality data and responsible implementation. Used cleverly and safely, the UK’s health system (one of the world’s richest datasets) can drive best in class research, better health outcomes and economic growth.

3. The Tech Package: Foundations for a Digital NHS

The upcoming Tech Package, expected as part of the 10YHP, will reaffirm commitments to several cornerstone programmes:

• Single Patient Record: Giving patients real control over a single, complete collation of their data across care settings.
• Health Data Research Service: Unlocking the power of health data for research and innovation through one simple application and approvals process.
• NHS App: Evolving into a central digital front door to the NHS to empower patients to organise care around their needs, choices and schedule.

To realise their full potential, these programmes need more than just funding. They require dedicated change management, robust infrastructure, a digitally skilled workforce, and strong partnerships.

 4. From Hospital to Community: Building Neighbourhood Health

The shift toward a neighbourhood health service is about delivering care closer to home. It will require:

• Multi-disciplinary teams across primary, community, and social care.
• Interoperable systems to support seamless care – using foundations such as the roll out of the federated data platform to support this.
• Infrastructure to move critical resources, like medicines and equipment, to where they’re needed most.

 5. Empowered Front Line: A New Delivery Model

The 10YHP signals a move toward devolved delivery, empowering local systems while retaining central coordination where it adds value. Transformation happens on the ground, and those closest to patients must lead it.

What We Think Is Particularly Promising

• True Preventative Care: Moving from reactive to proactive health services, enabled by data, could transform lives, reduce long-term costs and improve health inequalities.
• Data Partnerships: Collaborating with the private sector and local government can unlock innovation while maintaining public trust.
• Smarter Resource Allocation: Using data to move medicines, equipment, and staff to where they’re needed most.

Themes to Watch

• Investment in Technology: Recognised in the Spending Review and 10YHP as essential to productivity and patient experience. But investment must be outcome-driven.
• Revenue-Backed Transformation: Acknowledging that tech alone doesn’t deliver change - people and processes do.
• Complex Transformation Landscape: With NHSE merging into DHSC, delivery will require careful planning, collaboration, and learning from past experience.

In Summary:

The 10-Year Health Plan is a bold but grounded vision. It’s about making the NHS healthier, more productive, and more resilient, while staying true to its founding principles. If we get this right, we won’t just improve health and care, we’ll make the entire country healthier and wealthier.