The future of system driven healthcare enabled by digital, data and AI

Professor Hatim Abdulhussein reflects on his time working with the NHS Digital Academy and shows great optimism for the future of digital healthcare.

In 2019, I remember vividly the launch of the Topol Review, speaking to Dr. Eric Topol on stage about the future shape of the health and care workforce, and how enabled by the technologies of the future, we would achieve true transformation in the practice we offer. Driven by this vision and off the back of launching the Topol Fellowships, a legacy programme from the review, I was excited to join at the time Health Education England (now NHS England’s Workforce, Training and Education Directorate) to take on some of the recommendations from that review, surrounded by wonderful colleagues in initially a matrix team followed by more actively being embedded in the NHS Digital Academy team looking at unlocking this wicked problem full of opportunity.

As we enter a new era for the NHS, with the formation of a new government with a fresh mandate and ideas, I have bittersweetly move away from my work with the NHS Digital Academy, moving to enact everything I’ve learnt through the Digital Health Leadership Programme, and other initiatives I have been so fortunate to have been a part of including our work on the Long Term Workforce Plan, and will be working with three integrated health and care systems in the South East of England to translate what we see in technology and education policy into action.

The art of the possible is endless, with most innovations and change we want to see having digital components. I’m excited about being able to unlock this going forward, moving towards true technology enabled health and care, at the heart of our communities, with a workforce that has the skills, capabilities and attitudes that enable a modern NHS and care service which our citizens are proud of. If we can demonstrate how we use technology to release the pressures our workforce face, enable the digital innovations that make my clinic day easier as a GP, we will have won.

So, as I look back on my time with NHS England, and the work we carried out in Digital, AI and Robotics in Education, I feel positive about what this will lead to in terms of the skills and capabilities we can enable in our workforce. It was great to see the release of the NHS Digital Academy AI education offer, resources linked back to the capability framework which are aimed at being accessible, free and open use, to help build the foundation skills necessary amongst our health and care workforce. A big thank you to all the experts that supported our work to develop this package and look forward to seeing its impact on the future workforce.

I will remain engaged with the work of the NHS Digital Academy, and a key champion for its mission. Thank you to all the wonderful colleagues I have worked with in the last few years and look forward to where we are as we continue to enable our workforce for the digital future.