Hancock hopes NHSX will ‘transform technology use’ across healthcare
- 4 July 2019
The secretary of state for health and social care has said he hopes NHSX will ‘provide the leadership to transform the use of digital technology’ across the health service.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Health News at the launch of NHSX in London on 3 July, Matt Hancock added that he ultimately hopes NHSX “will save clinician’s time and patient’s lives”.
NHSX, which will oversee technology across health and social care, was confirmed by Digital Health News in February 2019 and brings together teams from the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement.
The unit has five missions: reduce burden on staff, so they can focus on patients; give citizens tools to access information and services directly; ensure clinical information can be safely and digitally accessed; improve patient safety across the NHS and increase NHS productivity.
Hancock said the success of the organisation would come down to three things. “The first is the five missions that NHSX has set out which are vital to the future of the health service,” he said.
“The second is that, to deliver on those missions and show it can be done, NHSX is setting out three exemplar projects where it is embedding NHSX people in projects – like screening, improving mental health and cancer – to mainstream the vision and the idea that underpins NHSX.
“The third of course that all of that is delivered through programmes to improve specific parts of the NHS.
“The clarity of the missions, of how it is going to be delivered, is incredibly important.”
Hancock was appointed as health secretary in July 2018 after serving as secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport.
When asked whether he hoped NHSX would form part of his legacy as the government lead for health, Hancock said it was still early days.
He said: “I wanted to embed the tech vision which I have seen so successfully in other parts of government and embed that for the long term and that’s why I wanted to start an institution that is part of the NHS, to be able to ensure that mission will always have a home.”
NHSX will be headed up by former government director for cyber security, Matthew Gould.
Hancock said the NHSX CEO “understands the technology and people side”.
He added: “He can bring all of his experience from the tech domain and in the diplomatic domain, which is sometimes important in the NHS.”
3 Comments
The IT and Informatics departments within NHS trusts are full of people with innovative ideas to move the NHS forward. They already know what is required and how things could improve. They are best placed to make things happen. The issue is a lack of funding. I am hopeful that NHSX will change my sceptic view of centralising IT innovation. But my hopes are low. I was hoping for much more from NHS Digital, read about lots of great ideas, but saw nothing delivered into NHS trusts.
I’m all for any IT that saves clinicians time and saves patients lives, but can us lowly admin staff have some decent IT systems as well. We struggle with inadequate networks and patient admin systems that are not fit for purpose, and then get criticised when things go wrong. We are well used to being regarded as mere pen pushers, but if it doesn’t get recorded in some system, it doesn’t get paid for. Spare us a thought.
.. but NHSX CEO does not, like Matt, understand the vital role of PROCESSES, the third P in the 3Ps trinity – People, Processes and Products (technology), in that order.
The other vital thing I would add to all these plans being touted for enhancing the NHS; how precisely do you measure the success of any activity undertaken? I’m afraid the old get-out of “we invested £x m., set up this and that committee, taken advice from Bill Gates (NPfIT!) and talked to everyone in the UK ….” will not convince me that anything has changed,
PS I must be boring the pants off everyone who reads my comments on the NHS/NHSX but they need to be said.
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