In his recent speech at the Labour Party Conference, Wes Streeting stated that future reforms to the NHS would result in three important shifts – from analogue to digital, from hospital to community and from sickness to prevention. The purpose of these three shifts is to try and tackle the ‘wicked’ healthcare problem we are facing in the UK. This was made worse by the pandemic and the recent Darzi report highlighted that NHS productivity has dropped. But, with the recent report stating, “the national health service is in serious trouble”, where do we start?

Leveraging Technology to Join Up Care

We know that people are stronger when they work together, and this remains true when we think of health and social care. With persistent health disparities across all outlooks of care, improving the integration and cooperation between these two areas is essential to ensuring better and more equitable health outcomes for everyone. The effective use of data and technology to record and share information is key.

Previously there has been too much focus on acute settings, such as the target for all NHS trusts to have electronic patient records (EPRs) in place by March 2026. , this neglects the flow of data between care settings, perpetuating the focus on sickness rather than prevention, and limiting improvements to within the hospital walls.

By joining up technology and creating one shared care record across an integrated care system (ICS), health and social care professionals would be able to deliver more personalised care and make more informed decisions. For example, with one shared care record, the sharing of discharge information between an acute setting and social care becomes easier, ensuring that unwell or vulnerable individuals have a continuity of care that ultimately leads to better outcomes.

This fully joined up vision will take some time to implement fully, however with 12% of the UK already stuck on waiting lists and likely getting sicker, we need to start making a difference now. Population health data is one area that could help. By integrating this data, healthcare providers will be able to identify those most at risk on their waiting list and prioritise their treatment, therefore reducing the potential for more serious interventions being required later down the line.

The value technology brings in allowing people to take greater control of their own health should also not be underestimated. Through the use of patient facing apps, you enable everyone to play a role in ensuring information is up to date, understood and accessible. For example, giving access to pregnancy records digitally rather than in a paper booklet, means that throughout a pregnancy information can be shared in real-time from appointments and results through to birth plans and feedback on care, ensuring everyone is kept informed.

Challenges

Whilst there is little doubt around the positive effect of connecting care, there has been minimal incentive to collaborate. Unfortunately, the will to do the right thing has not been strong enough to overcome the organisational, financial, and cultural barriers which we are currently facing. As a result, priorities between healthcare and local governments have not been aligned.

Technology deployments historically, have also not been held to account for reporting back on the value delivered. If greater funding is required, should there be a responsibility to be able to demonstrate how an EPR, for example, has helped improve patient outcomes, and also delivered on the benefits and savings in the original business case?

It is apparent that fundamental changes are needed to enable ICS’ to both access funding and also be given the necessary power to make these projects a priority, ensuring this true integration can become a reality.

Our Future

Connecting care will provide countless benefits to the UK population, the NHS and local authorities. We must remain hopeful that the government stay true to their focus and give efficient funding and prioritisation to their vision of “a digital healthcare service powered by cutting-edge technology. A preventative health service that helps us stay healthy and out of hospital.”

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