The NHS has an unprecedented opportunity to redefine healthcare for the digital age. Yet, the system faces a contradiction. Public trust in the NHS as an organisation is at a historic low – in 2024 only one in five people said they were satisfied with how it works, even though trust in the doctors and nurses who provide care remains high. The core of what the NHS stands for continues to resonate, but the reality of the everyday experience is falling further behind those ideals.
Central to the government’s 10-Year Health Plan, an ambitious goal set out to build a health service fit for the future, is digital transformation. Significant funding has been allocated to bring the NHS into a modern, connected era. There’s no doubt that the NHS’s scale and data make it a valuable resource to lead digital healthcare on a global level. But the challenge is not just technological. Real success depends on understanding the human experience – both for patients navigating care, and the staff delivering it.
Understanding the patient and staff journey
Too often, digital initiatives fail because they focus on the technology rather than the people using it. To fully grasp the impact of a digital tool, systems must capture and effectively act on insights from all stakeholders.
Traditional listening tools, such as surveys, capture only snapshots of interaction, leaving hundreds of touchpoints unexamined. This neglects a vast, untapped network of critical interactions throughout the entire user journey. Journey mapping addresses this by tracing experiences end-to-end. For the NHS, this could look like mapping out patient journeys from first contact to follow-up care; for staff, from system interactions to daily workflow and leadership engagement. These maps expose problem areas that usual metrics may miss – whether it’s a scheduling bottleneck, a confusing portal, or a process that frustrates clinicians.
Collecting feedback continuously across digital, phone, and in-person channels lets leaders act on the experiences they uncover through active listening. When this feedback leads to real changes, staff feel supported, and patients receive care that is smoother and safer.
Reconnecting the workforce
The NHS was built on empathy, but years of operational pressure, staff shortages, and different experiences depending on location have frayed morale and resulted in a system that is in danger of being disconnected from its purpose.
Leaders must prioritise employee experience if transformation is to succeed. Understanding workforce challenges and rebuilding cultural foundations is as important as technology itself. Digital tools can enhance productivity and wellbeing – areas often trained by the financial pressures and constant trade-offs between budget and quality of care, but only when staff have the right support, training, and recognition in place.
Employee experience and patient outcomes are tightly linked. When clinicians and support staff are empowered and listened to, digital initiatives can unlock a better staff experience and higher productivity in the NHS. On the other hand, overlooking staff can slow down adoption and hold back progress.
Digital as a core pillar
The NHS’s 10-Year Plan makes its digital ambitions clear. The Global Government Forum report, A Fresh Mandate for Digital Leadership in the NHS, outlines the barriers holding back this digital progress and offers strategies to keep transformation moving. The report also highlights that day-to-day operations, career pathways, and cultural attitudes across the NHS have not yet fully adapted to the digital era.
Investing £10 billion, as outlined by the spending review, is a start, but transformation will only stick if digital is treated as essential to care delivery, not as a back-office function.
Digital professionals must be seen as enablers of clinical and operational goals, embedded across roles and pathways, not siloed in IT. Leadership support is critical here – boards must understand the processes and skills required to integrate technology into everyday care effectively.
This approach reduces the risk of repeating past mistakes and makes sure that new systems truly improve care for patients and the experience for staff.
A human-centred vision for the future
The NHS has the scale, data, and mandate to lead digital healthcare. By putting human experience at the centre – listening to patients and staff, rebuilding workforce culture, and building digital capabilities into the core of the system – the organisation can deliver on the promises of the 10-Year Plan.
