Patient voice must be embedded into 10 Year Health Plan to maximise technology benefits
The Medical Technology Group’s chair, Barbara Harpham, responds to the NHS Ten Year Plan
The Ten Year Health Plan marks a historic moment for the NHS as it positions technology as a much needed transformative force. But equally, it must be recognised as a historic moment for patients. As we embrace innovation and technologies like virtual wards and AI- assisted care, it is critical that the patient voice is embedded into every step of this transformation.
Research by the Medical Technology Group has repeatedly shown that patients are a vastly underused asset in shaping the use of technology and innovation on the NHS. Patients are often the first to understand poor or limited application of technology, while fully understanding its long term value in getting them back to work, keeping them out of the hospital and living free from pain and discomfort.
Despite this, we have found persistent lack of meaningful patient involvement in Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). ICBs are slowly evolving, but patient involvement continues to be patchy and tokenistic, meaning new technologies and innovation are underused, poorly implemented, or fail to address patient challenges. This must change if the Government’s vision for the NHS is to be realised.
Technology alone will not deliver better outcomes unless reforms are matched with processes and resources that genuinely include patients in choice, design and decision-making. We risk building a technology-first NHS that fails to meet real-world needs if we do not understand how these changes impact those it serves.
The MTG stands ready to support the Government and NHS leaders in ensuring that amidst this scale of change patient experience and insight is harnessed as an iterative force. With the Government’s three shifts, patients will be required to do more than ever. It is no longer an accessory to the integrated model of care, but an essential component of making this future model work.