AUTUMN 2025 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 27
NHS & HEALTHCARE
New research uncovers
pressures and progress
in NHS digital transformation
• A new whitepaper from Blue Frontier details key opportunities and challenges for NHS trusts
amidst ongoing digital transformation.
• Interoperability, patient access concerns, and public fears over AI remain prominent
challenges for the NHS to overcome.
• The research uses a combination of primary and secondary data to provide a comprehensive
view of the sector.
As the NHS quickly approaches
its March 2026 deadline
for foundational digital
transformation, a new whitepaper
from Blue Frontier warns that
interoperability, patient access
concerns, and public fears over
AI could slow future progress.
‘NHS Under Pressure: Challenges
and Opportunities Facing NHS
Digital Transformation in 2025
and Beyond’ aims to empower
key NHS decision makers when
planning their ongoing digital
transformation strategy to deliver
enhanced patient engagement
and experience, and improved
operational ef昀椀ciencies while
relieving resource pressures.
This report brings brand new
market insights to the forefront,
with primary data collected
and visualised by Blue Frontier.
The data in this whitepaper
consists of social listening and
mentions data, collected across
a wide range of digital channels,
including online news, social
networks, podcasts, forums, and
blog sites, gathered throughout
the period of August 2024 to
September 2025. This data has
been bolstered with additional
secondary information and
third-party data from sources
including NHS England, GOV.
UK, Cambridge University, and
Deloitte.
Key points include
interoperability being seen as
the most prominent challenge
to NHS digital transformation
in relation to automation, data
exchange, real-time intelligence,
and adopting cloud-native
platforms. Between August
2024 and September 2025,
there has been a 135% increase
in the total number of online
mentions relating to the NHS and
arti昀椀cial intelligence or machine
learning, when compared to the
previous year. However, fear
and anger are the most common
emotions felt by the public in
conversations about AI and the
NHS, accounting for just under
60% combined, with joy closely
behind on 26%.
A crucial challenge for data
security lies in regulatory
compliance, with legislation and
compliance making up 20% of
discussions. Low digital literacy
rates, in relation to balancing
patient access and ease of use,
continue to be an opportunity and
a challenge, with conversations
increasing by 28% from March
2025 to September 2025
compared with the previous
period. Finally, budgets and costs
remain a prevalent challenge for
NHS trusts seeking to integrate
digital transformation projects,
with around 20% of the total data
pool speci昀椀cally referencing costs
and resources as a challenge or
barrier to entry.
James Fry, Managing Director
at Blue Frontier, said:
“In bringing this information to
the NHS at this crucial time, we’re
further supporting public sector
initiatives that improve ef昀椀ciency
and delivery of service in the
UK. Responsibly harnessing
technology is an effective way
to reduce costs and positively
impact people’s lives, and this
whitepaper will provide greater
insight and aid decision-making
for those striving to make an
impactful difference.”
To read the full report and learn
more about the opportunities and
challenges facing NHS trusts and
what they should do to leverage
digital transformation effectively,
go to: www.bluefrontier.co.uk/ .
James Fry,
Managing Director
GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC SECTOR JOURNAL AUTUMN 2025
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