NHS digital workforce readiness

The government's long-term NHS ambitions for shifting to community, digitisation and prevention place technology and data at its heart.

We want your help to highlight attitudes towards the achievability of delivering digital transformation in line with the NHS 10 Year Plan.

The results of this Digital Health survey will be used to highlight the attitudes of NHS professionals during a period of significant change and re-organisation.

It will also inform programme content for next year’s Digital Health Rewired conference, ensuring key themes and concerns on digital readiness are addressed.

The survey is short and should take no more than five minutes to complete. Your responses will remain confidential. NHS respondents will be sent a summary of the results.

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* 1. Email

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* 2. Organisation

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* 3. Job role

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* 4. Region

Other (please specify)

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* 5. How prepared do you feel your organisation’s workforce is to deliver the digital commitments set out in the NHS 10 Year Plan?

Key 10 Year Plan Digital Commitments

Single Patient Record, accessible via the NHS App, by 2028

Continued rollout of the Federated Data Platform (May 2024-March 2027)

NHS App to be the “full front door” by 2028 (bookings, managing appointments, choosing provider, managing medicines, general advice and care)

AI integrated into clinical pathways, predictive analytics, decision support, automation of administrative tasks

Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology

NICE approved (or equivalent) technology to be available via the NHS App or a “digital marketplace” or catalogue for patients and clinicians.

Patients to have a 24/7 virtual assistant – a doctor in your pocket – by 2035

Organisations to reserve at least 3 % of annual spend for one-off service transformation investments (which includes digital/innovation) to accelerate adoption

	Very prepared	Somewhat prepared	Neutral	Somewhat unprepared	Very unprepared
Single Patient Record	Single Patient Record Very prepared	Single Patient Record Somewhat prepared	Single Patient Record Neutral	Single Patient Record Somewhat unprepared	Single Patient Record Very unprepared
Federated Data Platform rollout	Federated Data Platform rollout Very prepared	Federated Data Platform rollout Somewhat prepared	Federated Data Platform rollout Neutral	Federated Data Platform rollout Somewhat unprepared	Federated Data Platform rollout Very unprepared
NHS App to be the “full front door”	NHS App to be the “full front door” Very prepared	NHS App to be the “full front door” Somewhat prepared	NHS App to be the “full front door” Neutral	NHS App to be the “full front door” Somewhat unprepared	NHS App to be the “full front door” Very unprepared
AI integration	AI integration Very prepared	AI integration Somewhat prepared	AI integration Neutral	AI integration Somewhat unprepared	AI integration Very unprepared
Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology	Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology Very prepared	Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology Somewhat prepared	Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology Neutral	Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology Somewhat unprepared	Roll out of ambient voice / AI scribe technology Very unprepared
NICE approved tech available via the NHS App	NICE approved tech available via the NHS App Very prepared	NICE approved tech available via the NHS App Somewhat prepared	NICE approved tech available via the NHS App Neutral	NICE approved tech available via the NHS App Somewhat unprepared	NICE approved tech available via the NHS App Very unprepared
Patient 24/7 virtual assistant	Patient 24/7 virtual assistant Very prepared	Patient 24/7 virtual assistant Somewhat prepared	Patient 24/7 virtual assistant Neutral	Patient 24/7 virtual assistant Somewhat unprepared	Patient 24/7 virtual assistant Very unprepared
3 % of annual spend for transformation investments	3 % of annual spend for transformation investments Very prepared	3 % of annual spend for transformation investments Somewhat prepared	3 % of annual spend for transformation investments Neutral	3 % of annual spend for transformation investments Somewhat unprepared	3 % of annual spend for transformation investments Very unprepared
Overall preparedness of the NHS 10 Year Plan digital commitments	Overall preparedness of the NHS 10 Year Plan digital commitments Very prepared	Overall preparedness of the NHS 10 Year Plan digital commitments Somewhat prepared	Overall preparedness of the NHS 10 Year Plan digital commitments Neutral	Overall preparedness of the NHS 10 Year Plan digital commitments Somewhat unprepared	Overall preparedness of the NHS 10 Year Plan digital commitments Very unprepared

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* 6. What digital capabilities do you think need to be a priority for staff in your organisation? Rank in order of priority.

Basic digital literacy

N/A

AI /Ethical AI

N/A

Clinical and patient workflow

N/A

Data and analytics skills (including capture and coding)

N/A

Cybersecurity awareness and practices

N/A

Leadership and change management

N/A

Digital clinical safety and risk management skills

N/A

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* 7. To what extent do you think the current workforce pressures (shortages, burnout, retention, recruitment) are holding back digital transformation in your organisation?

To a great extent

To a small extent

Not at all

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* 8. What do you think is currently the biggest workforce pressure facing your organisation?

Staff shortages

Burnout and wellbeing

Retention and recruitment of experienced staff

Increasing demand on services

Patient backlogs

Insufficient workforce budget

Other (please specify)

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* 9. What type of investment or support would make the biggest difference to improving your organisation’s digital workforce readiness in the next 12 months? Rank in order of priority.

More funding for training and professional development

N/A

Clearer national delivery strategy

N/A

More national investment

N/A

Better access to specialist digital expertise

N/A

Improved career pathways for digital specialists in the NHS

N/A

NHS digital capability standards

N/A

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* 10. What services/solutions will be the most valuable from technology suppliers in the next 12 months? Rank in order of priority.

Outsourced digital expertise

N/A

Upskilling and training services

N/A

Workforce planning and rostering tools

N/A

AI and automation

N/A

Digital tools to support patient flow and winter resilience

N/A

Strategic counsel/support

N/A

Remote care solutions

N/A

Patient self-care solutions

N/A

NHS digital workforce readiness

Question Title

* 1. Email

Question Title

* 2. Organisation

Question Title

* 3. Job role

Question Title

* 4. Region

Question Title

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* 6. What digital capabilities do you think need to be a priority for staff in your organisation? Rank in order of priority.

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* 7. To what extent do you think the current workforce pressures (shortages, burnout, retention, recruitment) are holding back digital transformation in your organisation?

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* 8. What do you think is currently the biggest workforce pressure facing your organisation?

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* 9. What type of investment or support would make the biggest difference to improving your organisation’s digital workforce readiness in the next 12 months? Rank in order of priority.

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* 10. What services/solutions will be the most valuable from technology suppliers in the next 12 months? Rank in order of priority.

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* 11. What one word or phrase would you use to describe the current state of your organisation’s digital workforce readiness?