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On 14 June, the Government published a response to the Hewitt Review on integrated cares systems (ICS), welcoming the report and emphasising its commitment to ensuring the success of ICSs as “places that are the engine for delivery and reform”. The response states that autonomy and accountability should not be viewed as contradictory, pointing to the CQC interim guidance published in March 2023, which set out the framework for assessing ICSs.
Overall, the Government response focuses on highlighting where existing commitments have already been set out that intend to address many of the recommendations made by Patricia Hewitt. The general sentiment expressed in the review broadly aligns with government thinking, but while it is useful to have a directory of the various plans and strategies set out over the past couple of years, the devil is in the delivery.
The Hewitt Review made a series of recommendations on data and digital. techUK has highlighted below the Government response and what this might mean for the tech sector.
Recommendation: That NHS England, DHSC and ICSs work together to develop a minimum data sharing standards framework to be adopted by all ICSs to improve interoperability and data sharing across organisational barriers.
Response:
Recommendation: DHSC should, this year, implement the proposed reform of Control of Patient Information regulations, building on the successful change during the pandemic and set out in the data saves lives strategy (2022).
Response:
Recommendation: NHS England should invite ICSs to identify appropriate digital and data leaders from within ICSs - including from local government, social care providers and the VCFSE provider sector - to join the Data Alliance and Partnership Board.
Response:
Recommendation: Building on the existing work of NHS England, the NHS App should become an even stronger platform for innovation, with the code being made open source to approved developers as each new function is developed.
Response:
Recommendation: The government should set a longer-term ambition of establishing citizen health accounts.
Response:
Recommendation: ICSs, DHSC, NHS England and CQC should all have access to the same, automated, accurate and high-quality data required for the purposes of improvement and accountability.
Response:
Both the Secretary of State and Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care gave keynote speeches at NHS ConfedExpo 2023.
Wes Streeting focussed on the centrality of innovation and technology to making sure the NHS is fit for the future. He highlighted the use of AI in cancer screening, using tech to move care into the community, and how the slow adoption of technology is currently working against this.
Streeting once again touched on Labour’s intention to publish a Long Term Workforce Plan. It is essential that this includes digital skills. He further pledged a single front door for innovators, identifying technologies that can be purchased at scale and negotiating a good price for those that meet priorities. NHS procurement is currently complex and often presents a barrier to innovators both large and small. techUK’s Commercial and Procurement Healthtech Community of Practice works with NHS England’s Central Commercial Function to address some of these barriers, but further clarity on the role of bodies such as AHSNs and the NHS Innovation Service would help simplify routes to market.
This speech was followed the next day by Steve Barclay’s, focussing on issues including expanding patient choice and reducing the elective backlog, and touching on several examples where technology had improved services and outcomes for patients. Barclay also highlighted the number of prescriptions ordered via the NHS App.
Barclay went on to say: “The reason I care about tech is simple: it improves outcomes and helps you do your jobs. And let me say this: when budgets are tight, tech is often the first thing to go. That is not my approach. I am protecting the tech budget – and those key investments that will help us in the long term.”
Barclay also indicated his preference for devolving decision-making, greater transparency, and a place-based approach. The only refence to the Hewitt review was to acknowledge its publication.
techUK has launched a Life Sciences workstream, bringing together members actively working in drug discovery, digital therapeutics, data and AI, or those interested in moving into this space. As the Life Sciences sector looks to introduce digital health technologies into its portfolio, techUK are shaping the conversation.
The Interoperability Working Group will work towards achieving the vision set out in NHS England’s 2022 draft standards and interoperability strategy. The group will aim to encourage the adoption of open standards and fluidity of data whilst recognising the commercial needs of members. It will also focus on demonstrating the value of interoperability to NHS senior management and improving the abilities of SMEs to implement interoperability standards.
Find out more about our work to shape the digital social care marketplace and how our members are innovating across the industry.
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Building the Smarter State is techUK’s flagship public services conference and the go-to conference for public sector digital leaders.
2024 will mark the tenth anniversary of this hugely influential conference, where we will focus on the most pressing and important topics for public sector digital transformation.
