The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is due to announce that tech bodies NHSX and NHS Digital will merge into NHS England as part of a major restructuring.

In an internal email, seen by Healthcare IT News, NHSX CEO Matthew Gould said the brands would be “retired” to accelerate the digital transformation of the NHS.   

According to Gould, NHS Digital will be incorporated into NHS England as soon as legislation allows. Ahead of legislative reform, NHS Digital will work in an integrated way with NHS England, and its CEO Simon Bolton will become the CIO of NHS England.

Bolton will report to Dr Tim Ferris, with a reporting line to Amanda Pritchard as well, and will sit on the NHSE executive team.

NHSX will evolve into the strategy function of the new transformation directorate. The strategy function will keep the joint unit status, and also include staff drawn from across the wider directorate. The strategy function’s role will continue to include the digital transformation of social care.

A spokesperson for NHSX confirmed that DHSC will announce the plans later today.

WHY IT MATTERS

The announcement follows a review by NHS Digital chair Laura Wade-Gery, which recommended a more coherent approach to digital transformation in the NHS national bodies.   

Gould said the plans emphasise the “single, united approach to digital transformation that the NHS plans to take, and the need for organisational clarity and simplicity in how it drives this agenda forward”. 

THE LARGER CONTEXT

Earlier this year, NHSE announced plans to create a new transformation directorate bringing together digital and operational improvement teams within NHSE and NHS Improvement, which would incorporate NHSX. However, Gould denied speculation that NHSX would be disappearing.

NHS Digital recently faced controversy when its proposed GP data sharing scheme was halted due to opposition from campaigners, GP groups and the public.

In October’s budget and spending review around £2.3 billion was allocated for digital technology including more diagnostic tests, such as CT, MRI and ultrasound scans.

ON THE RECORD

In the internal email, Mr Gould said: “I am clear that it is an emphatically positive step, taking forward our mission of driving the digital transformation of health and social care. As the Secretary of State has said, it reflects the huge progress that NHSX has driven, and how we have fulfilled our mandate.

“During the pandemic we have seen the impact that digital and data has had. Your work has made a huge difference, which has been recognised by the Secretary of State and Amanda Pritchard, who are both paying tribute to it today. 

“The Secretary of State has made clear that in the coming years, digital transformation will be existential for the NHS. NHS Digital and NHSX’s incorporation into NHS England’s transformation directorate will enable the NHS to drive the people-centred, digitally-enabled, data-driven vision for which we have been advocating.”

The story has been updated with a link to the full release from the DHSC on 22 November 2021.