The UK Government and NHS England should ring fence funding for digital transformation in health and social care, according to IT industry association techUK
It has also said there is a need for better commercial and procurement practices, and a reorganisation of the data landscape.
The recommendations have come with others in a new report from the association that sounds a call for collective action during the current parliamentary term, and with a claim that accelerating the digital transformation of care can lead to better outcomes in the sector.
The recommendation for ring fenced funding and increased central spending would respond to a priority to invest in the sector, and would be accompanied by developing guidance for NHS chief financial officers on the management of capital and operating expenditure for IT infrastructure.
There is also a need to align new and existing investments for a common architectural approach to make them cost-effective and produce best value.
Better procurement
Complementing this is a call to improve commercial and procurement practices through measures such as establishing clear roles and responsibilities in NHS bodies, streamlining procurement practices, supporting a transition to dynamic frameworks, and prioritising the delivery of the NHS SME Action Plan.
In addition, the Government, NHS and regulatory bodies should clarify and standardise the evidence base for digital health and care solutions.
The report acknowledges the importance of data and AI, saying there is a need to clarify relevant roles in all initiatives, work with suppliers on understanding the intellectual property issues when using data, and engaging with healthcare professionals for all data initiatives. In addition, NHS England should clarify future strategy for the Connecting Care Records programme and publish the NHS Standards and Interoperability Strategy, while all organisations should aim to phase out the use of legacy systems to reduce the cyber risk.
On AI, a central strategy is needed to guide its safe adoption, along with an evaluation of the NHS AI Lab’s activities and a collaboration charter between the Government’s Incubator for AI and NHS England.
The report also highlights a need to accelerate digital transformation in social care. It says this could be achieved through expanding the remit of the Digitising Social Care Programme for collaboration with other parts of the public sector, support for research initiatives, and developing an assurance mechanism for social care technologies.
Further measures
Other recommendations include: the public sector engaging with industry to support strategic change; NHS England should define the next phase for the development of the NHS App; fostering integration across health, social care and core public services; and building digital skills in the health and care workforce.
“It is vital that we do not lose the current window of opportunity through which to act on these ambitions and make significant structural changes in health and social care,” says the report’s foreword.
“This has never been more important in relation to investment in digital transformation, the management of capital and operating expenditure for IT infrastructure, standardising and improving procurement practices, nourishing a thriving SME sector, and meaningfully addressing the interoperability challenges which currently hinder the modernisation and productivity of health and care services.”
