Quality in Care: Why the NHS needs Digital Transformation

The NHS is in ‘serious’ trouble and needs to invest more heavily in new digital technologies if it is to improve health outcomes and care inequalities. This is the message from independent peer and NHS surgeon Lord Ara Darzi, who was recently asked to carry out a review of the nation’s health system by the new Labour Government.  

Lord Darzi’s review was published in September 2024 and paints a worrying picture of the National Health Service, with experienced surgeon Darzi highlighting growing waiting lists, struggling A&E departments and lagging performance in key areas such as cancer and cardiovascular care as signs that the ‘quality of care has gone backwards’.  

But Darzi says there are still signs of life in the NHS, and that tapping into the underutilised potential of digital technologies could unlock the productivity, data and insights needed to reverse these trends and transform health outcomes. 

The digital gap in healthcare 

Lord Darzi’s review, which has been welcomed by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as a solid basis for change, highlights the NHS’s reliance on outdated infrastructure and its recent history of insufficient capital investment as reasons for the technological stagnation. Over the past decade, as new technologies have emerged and evolved at lightning speed, the NHS has grappled with a £37 billion shortfall in capital spending that has left many parts of the organisation lagging behind in the digital era. Darzi says the legacy of that lack of investment is ‘too many outdated scanners, too little automation, and parts of the NHS [that are] yet to enter the digital age.’ 

While digital advancements have reshaped processes and industry in almost every other sector, the NHS is described as being stuck in the ‘foothills’ of its own digital journey. Lord Darzi suggests there needs to be a ‘major tilt towards technology’ in order to unlock inefficiencies and support improvements in care quality – essential for helping the NHS move away from the traditional ‘diagnose and treat’ model and towards a more proactive ‘predict and prevent’ model. 

Key challenges identified 

Lord Darzi’s report outlines several critical challenges facing the NHS today: 

1. Access to care: Patients are struggling to see their GPs, and waiting lists for community and mental health services are growing all the time. Furthermore, A&E departments are overwhelmed, and waiting times for hospital procedures and surgery continue to increase. 
2. Lagging behind in key areas: NHS cancer care is falling behind the standard being delivered in other countries, and cardiovascular care is heading in the wrong direction. This, says Lord Darzi, is a reflection of issues with long-term disease management and proactive care more generally. 
3. Low digital maturity: The NHS is plagued by low digital maturity, with many healthcare settings and NHS trusts yet to see the benefits of technologies that are proven to streamline workflows and enhance care through deeper insights. More than that, outdated hardware, fragmented systems and siloed data make it near impossible to provide timely, accurate and joined-up care. User buy-in remains an issue here too, with NHS workers often feeling IT systems add to workloads rather than lighten them. 
4. Untapped potential of patient data: Darzi highlights the vast potential of patient data and medical records within the NHS, which remains largely untapped in terms of shaping clinical care, service planning, research and educational programmes. Better use of this data, combined with the UK’s emerging role as a global AI hub, could transform care and outcomes across the UK. 

Where digital can help drive improvement 

In response to Lord Darzi’s report, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to create a 10-year plan aimed at moving from an ‘analogue to a digital NHS,’ focussing on the need to prioritise resources towards community care settings, and to shift the focus from treatment to prevention. Darzi’s vision of integrated care relies of the adoption and use of digital technologies that can better support the delivery of efficient, proactive, patient-focused services. 

In practice, and in order to fully realise the potential and benefits of digital transformation, this means the NHS will need to: 

• Enhance IT systems: Improving digital systems to make clinical tasks more efficient, reducing the administrative burden on frontline healthcare professionals and freeing up time for delivery of care. 

• Integrate data across settings: Ensuring healthcare data and patient records are shared seamlessly between hospitals, GPs, community services and other relevant providers to promote more integrated, whole-person care and more proactive service delivery. 

• Embrace AI and automation: Using AI and predictive analytics to support early diagnosis and targeted proactive testing, as well as automated admin processes that help reduce waiting times and support better patient outcomes. 

• Focus on workforce training: User buy-in is essential, so equipping teams with the knowledge and confidence to use new tools and systems is key. Well-trained teams will be better positioned to use new tools efficiently, ensuring they complement rather than complicate clinical work. 

• Building a scalable foundation: A modern, scalable infrastructure to support new digital technologies is key to ensuring they remain relevant and adaptable. Investing in cloud-based platforms and secure data networks will create a foundation that allows the NHS to evolve as new technology emerges. 

• Using patient data for personalisation: Nothing is more personalised than our own health, so it makes sense that personalising healthcare by leveraging patient data will improve outcomes. Predictive analytics can flag patients at risk of developing certain conditions so interventions can be made proactively. Additionally, data analytics can help tailor treatments based on individual health profiles, ensuring care is effective and that unnecessary (and costly) procedures are minimised. 

Unlocking the future of healthcare 

Lord Darzi’s review paints a clear picture of the challenges facing the NHS, but it also provides a roadmap for transformation. Digital technology, data integration and AI are cannot just be optional add-ons in a modern health service; they are fundamental to creating a more efficient, more effective, more patient-centred and equitable healthcare system. The future of the NHS depends on the ability and willingness of those in power to bridge the digital gap, invest in modern technologies and embrace data-driven solutions.  

At BCN, we are committed to helping the NHS and local healthcare organisations meet these challenges head-on. With our cutting-edge digital tools, QI expertise and AI-driven solutions, we’re enabling healthcare providers to unlock the full potential of their data to deliver higher-quality, more proactive care that prioritises personalisation. As the NHS embarks on its decade-long digital transformation journey, trusted technology providers like BCN can support its evolution into a truly modern, data-driven healthcare system that’s built to last. 

Read more about how BCN Healthcare can support your healthcare organisation, with tools like EasySPC for automated reporting and Power BI dashboards for enhanced insights, as well as QI expertise and modern infrastructure.