Trust are committed to delivering high quality care for patients and service users and will continually look for improvements. At the moment, some trusts are reporting that 90% of their outpatient appointments are delivered virtually or on the phone. But trusts recognise there may be a need to deliver more face to face services, perhaps not in the same numbers as pre-COVID-19, when it is safe to do so. Similarly, while virtual ward rounds remain the safest and most appropriate solution right now, this approach may not be as popular when the risks of the virus begin to recede. Trusts remain cognisant of the needs and requirements of their patients and service users, and the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of these new ways of working. It remains important also to listen to hardworking NHS staff whose capacity remains stretched.
During the pandemic, trusts have demonstrated their ability to deliver digital solutions at pace and scale. In light of this progress, some trusts have reappraised their digital strategies, the sector is becoming more ambitious about how it can accelerate digital ways of working. To do this, a balance must be struck between allowing trusts to develop solutions that are right for their own local context and, where appropriate, national coordination that can guide trusts into developing and procuring digital tools that will support greater efficiencies and system interoperability. Central bodies, such as NHSX, have a key role to play here.
COVID-19 has been a catalyst for considerable progress on the digital agenda. But now in order to match the ambitious programme of digital transformation trusts aspire to, substantial investment is needed. The comprehensive spending review is a significant opportunity to properly fund the digital transformation of health and care services. Funding should be made available for trusts to invest in core infrastructure to ensure all achieve a basic level of digitisation. This funding should be transparent and consistent, as part of a multi-year funding settlement, so that trusts can make better strategic investment decisions over a longer period of time.