DHC Letter to Government on the 10YHP
The 10-Year Health Plan represents an opportunity to improve patient outcomes, increase system efficiency, and enhance healthcare accessibility. It’s important this strategy delivers a digitally-enabled healthcare system fit for the future.
As the Government proceeds with its latest reforms of the NHS, we urge decision-makers to safeguard the vital progress being made in digital healthcare innovation.
Our members are committed to working with Government to support the system any way we can.
Introduction to the DHC The Digital Healthcare Council (DHC) represents leading digital health providers delivering care across all parts of the patient pathway. Our members provide care and enable digital innovation, playing a critical role in supporting the NHS and wider health system. They bring entrepreneurial agility to tackling the NHS’s most pressing challenges.
As a network of delivery partners, the DHC is uniquely positioned to support the government’s top priorities for the NHS, ensuring that digital solutions drive measurable improvements in access, capacity, and patient care.
The need for a clear and focussed strategy A clear and focused strategy is essential to ensure that digital innovation delivers real impact for patients and the health system. Rather than attempting to cover a very broad digital ambition, the 10 Year Health Plan needs to prioritise a relatively small number of high-impact areas, with a clear rationale for their selection, to provide the direction needed to translate ambition into meaningful change. This could be done through a combination of addressing current operational challenges and looking ahead to the most impactful actions such as using data to enable personalised prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
An articulation of why digital transformation is needed is critical - how it can address the NHS’s most pressing challenges and deliver measurable benefits.
The importance of existing successful implementations within the NHS Including real-world examples of what's already working would serve several important purposes:
Demonstrate feasibility – case studies show that a proposed vision isn't theoretical but has already been achieved in parts of the system
Build confidence - people are more likely to support ambitious transformation plans when they can see evidence of success in the system already
Provide learning opportunities - successful deployments contain valuable lessons about what works, what doesn't, and how to overcome common challenges
Create momentum - highlighting successes can inspire others and create positive momentum for change
Ground abstract concepts - examples help translate high-level vision into tangible realities that people can better understand and relate to
Unlocking Private Capital for Innovation and Transformation It’s important that the 10 Year Health Plan provides some direction on funding for innovation. Our members are ready to work in partnership with the NHS to attract private capital into the system. The Government has already signalled its interest in leveraging private investment for major capital projects, and a similar approach can and should be applied to scaling proven digital health solutions that improve efficiency, expand capacity, and enhance patient care.
To unlock private capital for innovation, investors and delivery partners would need confidence in three key areas:
Clear Demand and Path to Scale – clarity on where the NHS intends to integrate digital solutions at scale. This means identifying priority areas for transformation, demonstrating commitment to adoption, and ensuring procurement and commissioning pathways enable proven innovations to scale beyond pilot projects.
Commercially Viable Models – viable reimbursement models, predictable revenue streams, and a willingness from NHS partners to engage in outcome-based contracts or risk-sharing models. The Government could consider introducing specific reimbursement for digital appointments and quality-based outcomes to embed digital into care pathways and boost adoption. This already happens in Sweden and France and has helped integrate digital care into existing primary care ways of working.
Regulatory and Policy Stability – frequent shifts in policy, funding cuts to digital initiatives, and fragmented decision-making create an unpredictable environment that discourages investment. The Government can provide confidence by committing to a stable policy framework that actively supports digital health adoption and investment.
Being honest about the challenges that exist Despite ongoing efforts to support digital transformation (commercially and operationally), our members continue to face significant systemic challenges that hinder progress. The issue is not a lack of technology - multiple proven digital solutions already exist that can deliver what the government wants. However, scaling these solutions beyond individual providers or systems remains difficult, and while there is broad recognition of the need for innovation, persistent barriers to adoption slow or even prevent meaningful change.
To unlock the full potential of digital health solutions, it is essential to openly acknowledge and address these challenges rather than allowing them to remain unspoken. Our members report nine key systemic issues:
(i) NHS culture – too often, the system feels closed for business, with a lack of empowerment or willingness to embrace innovation (though there are notable exceptions); digital literacy for patients and staff is a key tool to help bring about cultural change
(ii) Avoiding open dialogue with providers – without transparent discussions about problems, tailored solutions cannot be developed effectively
(iii) Financial constraints – a persistent focus on immediate cost pressures results in slow or stalled progress, with funding for digital health and innovation frequently reduced or lost within the system
(iv) Integrated Care Systems under pressure – many ICSs, driven by NHSE priorities, are reluctant to invest in ‘new’ models or technologies, including scaling up locally successful solutions beyond electronic patient records (EPRs), which cannot address every challenge. If ICSs were able to oversee open standards and APIs to enable seamless data exchange between all digital health systems, this would lead to significant progress.
(v) Decentralisation without clarity – the balance between devolved decision-making and national/regional oversight has led to excessive bureaucracy, unclear processes, and slow decision-making, creating the worst of both worlds
(vi) NHS fatigue – senior leaders, already stretched by operational and financial pressures, often lack the time or willingness to engage with innovation
(vii) Siloed approaches in ICSs - instead of looking at system-wide impact across health and care, ICSs frequently take a ‘point solution’ approach, missing opportunities to integrate technology including into social care to alleviate NHS pressures
(viii) Evaluation frameworks – whilst most would agree that assessing the effectiveness of digital health tools would facilitate wider adoption, there is a need for a solution-focussed willingness to co-create (together with providers) more realistic evaluation metrics and frameworks to assess impact. This will in turn build confidence and reduce bias that arise where such metrics are developed by the NHS and/or the providers, independent of each other
(ix) Strategy gap between the long term shifts and short to medium term operational goals
Addressing these challenges is critical to achieving a strategy that delivers real impact. Only by bringing them into the open can we drive the change needed to embed digital solutions at scale. We encourage the Government to acknowledge these systemic barriers and work collaboratively to overcome them.