Image source: Simon Dawson, No 10 Downing Street
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said a move from analogue to digital is one of three “big shifts” necessary for the future of the NHS.
He identified the need in a speech at the King's Fund, as the Government published the results of Lord Darzi’s review of the health service indicating that it is in serious trouble. This follows continual reports of prolonged waits for emergency care, difficulties in getting GP appointments and long waiting lists for non-urgent treatment.
Starmer agreed with Darzi’s key findings, said there is a need for long term reform of the NHS and that the Government is working on a 10-year plan, which will “have the fingerprints of NHS staff and patients all over it”.
He identified three big shifts as the frame of the plan.
“First, moving from an analogue to a digital NHS. A tomorrow service not just a today service,” he said.
As examples of digital services that are already proving their value he pointed to the NHS App, digital patient records and digital consultations.
He added: “Second, we’ve got to shift more care from hospitals to communities… And third, we’ve got to be much bolder in moving from sickness to prevention.”
Slow progress
Darzi’s review highlights the slow progress, saying that many parts of the NHS “are yet to enter the digital era”.
“Over the past 15 years, many sectors of the economy have been radically reshaped by digital technologies,” the document says.
“Yet the NHS is in the foothills of digital transformation. The last decade was a missed opportunity to prepare the NHS for the future and to embrace the technologies that would enable a shift in the model from ‘diagnose and treat’ to ‘predict and prevent’ – a shift I called for in High Quality Care for All, more than 15 years ago.”
In a statement accompanying the prime minister’s announcement, Darzi said: “We get caught up frantically trying to find beds that have been axed or using IT that is outdated or trying to work out how to get things done because operational processes are overwhelmed. It sucks the joy from our work - we became clinicians to help patients get better, not to go into battle with a broken system.”
Praising staff
Despite the damning analysis, Lord Darzi insists the NHS’s vital signs ‘remain strong’ and he praised staff for their ‘shared passion and determination to make the NHS better for our patients’.
In carrying out the review, Lord Darzi brought more than 70 organisations together in an Expert Reference Group and sought input from NHS staff and patients through focus groups and frontline visits.
