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NHS England One Digital: supplier day event insight

13 November 20264 min read
Event Round-up
Abstract digital illustration of high-speed data streams converging, representing connectivity and technology infrastructure

Delivering the 10 Year Health Plan will take more than deploying technology; it requires end-to-end digital transformation. On 20 October 2026, techUK and NHS England brought senior industry representatives together to set out how the One Digital Partnership will work and to hear what suppliers need from it.

Here are the key takeaways:

Welcome and keynote: the case for partnership

Opening the day, Kevin Humphries, Chief Technology Officer at NHS England and DHSC, made the case for One Digital: better care for patients, less friction for staff, and a system that works across boundaries. His key points were:

  • Technology is essential to breaking the current cycle.

    Without the right approach, the system will not escape its “doom loop”. As patients move across care boundaries, systems must be designed to support them.

  • The ask of suppliers: partnership and proof of patient benefit.

    Products must show clearly how they benefit patients and the NHS. Making NHS information hard to use elsewhere cannot be the basis for competition, and suppliers who meet their commitments end up carrying the shortcomings of those who don’t.

  • The ask of the NHS: don’t leave suppliers solving the same problems alone.

    NHS England should give clearer direction on where to invest, jointly develop public infrastructure, and ensure procurement frameworks and buying decisions align.

Overview of the One Digital Partnership

Sebastian Tallents, Head of Levers and Legislation, Chief Technology Office (CTO)

Technology and Digital Directorate, positioned One Digital as the set of enablers behind the 10 Year Health Plan, rather than a standalone programme, and made the case for working differently.

Why the One Digital partnership model? The model joins up the digital commitments in the 10 Year Health Plan (the Single Patient Record, Frontline Productivity, the NHS App and AI use in the NHS) through common standards and a single partnership with industry. This ensures digital change is consistent across the NHS, replacing programme-by-programme delivery.

Regulation will make this a condition of doing business. The Procurement Act 2023, the Data (Use and Access) Act (2025) and the NHS Reform Bill 2026 provide the foundations, with the biggest impact on the Single Patient Record (SPR).

The commercial case for suppliers: one set of requirements. This means a broader market, earlier sight of new needs, lower development costs and faster time to market.

Fireside chat and panel

The panel tested the partnership through three hypothetical scenarios. They asked how the Single Patient Record (SPR) could deliver early, then move to standardised, supplier-maintained interfaces; how to retire legacy connections fairly when readiness varies; and how to speed up Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) adoption when each provider must still agree costs and capacity.

Marketplace stalls: what we heard from the floor

Over lunch, a marketplace gave delegates the chance to discuss the morning’s takeaways at themed stalls. Three overarching concerns came through:

  • Reaching a shared position is the biggest challenge.

    Delegates wanted visibility over a two-to-three-year timeframe and emphasised the importance of having a diverse marketplace of suppliers.

  • Funding should be rules-based and cross-provider.

    Delegates wanted NHSE to support a positive, rules-based approach, with outcome-based or value-aligned payment for adoption.

  • Concerns centred on stickiness and scope.

    These included long-term contracts and market lock-in, the impact on roadmap items, scope creep and supplier commitments, and keeping foundations, data and analysis in view.

Transforming People, Patient and Staff-facing Services (TPPSS)

The afternoon session set out the four-year Transforming People, Patient and Staff-facing Services (TPPSS) programme, now in year one (Financial Year 2026/27), and NHS England’s plan to make the NHS feel like a single service by 2028. It aims to improve access to care, lower staff burden and strengthen prevention, with the NHS App as the channel that connects the pieces. Key takeaways were:

  • The App is the digital front door.

    October saw a record 91m logins and 16m users. “App 2.0” aims to replace today’s links out to third parties with one digital health companion, which means integrating with the App, not building competing front ends.

  • AI triage is the lever for access.

    Seventy-five per cent of patients are unsure where to seek care. It is live in Sussex and London, with live triage committed by 2028, so suppliers can still influence the design.

  • NHS Online is the lever for waits.

    This new national provider delivers planned virtual care through the App from 2027/28, starting with triage. However, speakers warned care must not become impersonal.

What comes next

We're taking the outcomes from this session into upcoming engagement with NHS England and DHSC, including a supplier day we are hosting with its Frontline Productivity team, built around suppliers’ own questions. To get involved:

Thank you to all speakers, chairs and panellists, and our members. For more information, contact Rachel Kennedy, Head of Health and Social Care.