Introduction to the New Hospital Programme
techUK’s briefing on the New Hospital Programme (NHP) welcomed Matt Gardner, Head of Digital Transformation, and Sarah Thomas, Digital Director.
Matt and Sarah presented to techUK members on plans to deliver 48 new hospitals by 2030, a joint venture between the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the NHS. This is a transformation programme that aims to support the NHS to deliver healthcare suitable for the future.
The NHP has 4 main objectives:
- Building national capacity
- Achieving high quality and sustainable care
- Creating intelligent hospitals
- Delivering a better, faster, and sustainable legacy
Matt and Sarah stressed that a business-as-usual approach will not suffice, and that the Programme would need to ask more of the market than its current capacity, requiring the adoption of new methods and approaches.
It was great to hear the intention to capitalise on the ‘wave of innovation’ in healthcare delivery, and the recognition that digital sits at the centre of this Programme. techUK has long called for digital to be recognised as foundational, rather than the ‘bolt on’ to the wider hospital system it has often been viewed as.
Likewise, techUK often emphasise the importance of joined up working across different NHS programmes, and it was fantastic to see the number of existing workstreams that will be feeding in to NHP, including frontline digitisation, digitising adult social care, digital pathology, and others.
Following 5 key principles, the NHP team want to “define, deliver and optimise the Intelligent Hospital of the future, for the NHS”. These principles are digitally empowered patients, interoperable and intelligent systems, digitally enabled staff, hospitals without walls supporting integrated care, and smart building.
This session will serve as a springboard for more detailed engagement going forward. If you would like to find out more about techUK’s work with NHS England, please contact a member of the team below.
You can watch the full recording from the event below:
Alex Lawrence
Alex Lawrence
Alex joined techUK in July 2021 as Programme Manager for Health and Social Care. Since July 2023 Alex has led the Programme.
Alex formerly worked at Portland Communications, joining as part of their 2019 Graduate Scheme intake. In March 2020 she joined Portland’s Health team, supporting a range of clients in the life sciences industry across both public affairs and strategic communications.
Alex has a degree in History from the University of Cambridge, focussing on Early Modern Europe and material culture. Outside of work she enjoys reading, finding new places to eat, and running.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- Phone:
- 07963 501 791
- LinkedIn:
- linkedin.com/in/alex-lawrence-509a8b166
Robert Walker
Robert Walker
Robert joined techUK in October 2022, where he is now Programme Manager for Health and Social Care & Justice and Emergency Services.
Robert previously worked at the Pension Protection Fund, within the policy and public affairs team. Prior to this, he worked at the Scottish Parliament, advising politicians and industry stakeholders on a wide range of issues, including rural crime and health policies.
Robert has a degree in Politics and International Relations (MA Hons) from the University of Aberdeen, with a particular focus on strategic studies and energy security. Outside of work he enjoys activities such as running, rugby, boxing and cooking!
- Email:
- [email protected]