Digital Health and Care Wales: building a world-class digital health system for the future
About Digital Health and Care Wales
DHCW is a Special Health Authority with a national remit to provide digital and data services that underpin health and care delivery across Wales. It operates or supports over 100 services, from core clinical systems to patient-facing applications, and leads major transformation programmes designed to:
- Equip frontline staff with tools for safer, more efficient care.
- Empower patients to manage their health and wellbeing.
- Make digital a force for good in health and care.
Context
Wales’ size and structure create a distinctive opportunity for collaboration:
- Population: 3.13 million people.
- Health System: 7 Health Boards, 3 NHS Trusts, 2 Special Health Authorities, and 22 Local Authorities.
- Wales holds close organisational links and strong relationships that enable integrated planning and delivery. This environment allows Wales to design services around population needs and accelerate health and social care integration.
Challenges driving change
Wales faces significant health and operational pressures:
- Population health: 46% of adults have a long-standing health condition; 64% are overweight, with 25% obese.
- Demand: Over 616,000 patients are waiting to start treatment.
- Workforce: Recruitment challenges and reliance on agency staff.
- Geography: Rural areas face access and infrastructure constraints.
- Digital maturity gaps: Ensuring equitable access and inclusion remains critical.
These challenges underscore the need for a digitally enabled system that improves efficiency, reduces variation, and supports better outcomes.
Strategic vision and objectives
DHCW’s purpose is clear: to make digital a force for good in health and care. Its strategy to 2030 is anchored in five missions:
1. Enable digital transformation
- Move all data stores and services to the National Data Resource (NDR) platform.
- Create a single national Clinical Data Repository.
- Transition all live services to the cloud and close legacy datacentres.
- Establish an all-Wales framework for health and social care data sharing.
2. Deliver high-quality digital products and services
- Digitally enable all prescribing and medicines management.
- Consolidate core health services into a single all-Wales Electronic Health Record.
- Develop a unified Electronic Social Care Record.
3. Expand digital health and care records
- Deploy a comprehensive single digital health and care record across all settings.
- Grow NHS Wales App usage to over one million people.
- Achieve top-quartile user satisfaction for digital services.
4. Drive innovation and value
- Create a secure data environment for research while protecting privacy.
- Deploy AI and automation safely and ethically to deliver year-on-year productivity gains.
- Provide national data insights to support evidence-based planning.
5. Be a trusted strategic partner
- Invest in talent development through an academy approach.
- Achieve a 34% reduction in carbon footprint and set a clear path to net zero.
- Maintain financial stability and top-quartile engagement.
Technology foundations
DHCW is modernising its technology stack to deliver scalable, secure, and interoperable services. This includes:
- Cloud-first architecture and closure of legacy datacentres.
- Open standards for interoperability across health and social care.
- Cyber resilience embedded by design.
- Automation and AI to improve efficiency and reduce manual workload.
Current transformation programmes
- Digital prescribing: Rolling out across primary care and hospitals.
- Connecting care: Linking health and social care systems for seamless patient journeys.
- NHS Wales app: Expanding functionality to empower patients.
- National data resource: Providing secure, ethical access to data for research and planning.
- AI deployment: Supporting safe and ethical use of AI for clinical and operational tasks.
- Cyber security: Strengthening infrastructure to keep systems and data accessible and secure.
Partnership approach
DHCW recognises that transformation requires collaboration. Its approach to strategic partnerships is built on:
- Shared vision and objectives aligned to patient benefit.
- Transparency and trust through open communication and data sharing.
- Co-development and innovation with early engagement on emerging technologies.
- System-wide value focused on sustainability and measurable impact.
- Continuous relationship management to adapt to changing priorities.
DHCW ask to suppliers was that their solutions are safe, secure, cloud-first, interoperable, and aligned with NHS Wales values.
For more information or to get involved, contact [email protected].
Rachel Kennedy
Rachel joined techUK in December 2024, as a Programme Manager in the Health and Social Care team.
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