Ahead of his talk at Rewired 2025, Andy Haywood, Group Chief Digital Officer at NHS Humber Health Partnership, shares his insights on how digital transformation is reshaping patient care and system-wide operations through innovation solutions and strategic deployment of technology.
In healthcare we often talk about digital transformation, but what truly matters is how these changes impact patient care and experience. At the Humber Health Partnership, one of the new Group structures within the NHS, we’re embarking on an ambitious journey to revolutionise how patients interact with our services, starting with one of the most fundamental aspects – appointment booking.
Our upcoming patient-led booking system represents a significant shift from traditional methods. Currently, patients receive letters and face the often frustrating experience of making phone calls to arrange appointments, leading to high rates of non-attendance. By implementing smart booking solutions that integrate with the NHS app and use text messaging, we’re putting control back in patients’ hands while ensuring we don’t digitally exclude those who prefer traditional communication methods.
This initiative goes beyond mere appointment scheduling. It’s about creating a comprehensive support system that provides patients with information about managing their health while waiting for procedures, ensuring they’re better informed and engaged in their healthcare journey.
Embracing AI responsibly
One of our most exciting recent initiatives was a hackathon exploring the potential of Microsoft Copilot, which brought together over 150 staff members from various roles – clinical, operational, leadership, and frontline nursing. The event generated remarkable insights into how AI could transform our operations while maintaining our commitment to responsible innovation.
We’re taking a measured but ambitious approach to AI implementation. While acknowledging the legitimate concerns around data protection and privacy, we’re also recognising AI’s immense potential to streamline administrative processes and enhance patient care. From generating initial drafts of discharge summaries to improving patient communication, AI presents opportunities to reduce administrative burden on clinical staff while maintaining safety and quality.
Building system-wide integration through digital innovation
Digital innovation in healthcare isn’t just about implementing new technologies within hospital walls – it’s about creating a connected ecosystem that benefits the entire healthcare system. We’re expanding our virtual ward capabilities, looking at ways to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and improve capacity management across the system.
Our approach to digital transformation is guided by two key principles:
- Focus on foundational improvements while planning for strategic change
- Deliver continuous improvement rather than waiting for perfection
This is exemplified in our Electronic Patient Record (EPR) programme. While we’re working towards procuring a new system, we’re simultaneously implementing improvements that can benefit patients and staff today. This dual approach ensures we maintain momentum while building towards larger strategic goals.
Data as a strategic asset
Understanding the critical role of data in modern healthcare, we’re investing in new data warehouse infrastructure to improve our analytical capabilities. This investment will enable better decision-making and support our broader digital transformation initiatives, ensuring we can effectively measure and improve patient outcomes.
Success in digital transformation requires more than just implementing new technologies though. It demands careful alignment with organisational strategy while maintaining focus on immediate improvements. We’re ensuring that digital considerations are embedded in all strategic conversations, particularly when discussing new models of care delivery or system-wide changes.
Our group strategic framework, published in July, represents a comprehensive approach to digital integration across our healthcare system. At its core, we’re focused on eliminating system duplication and ensuring interoperability between our various platforms. This goes hand-in-hand with our vision of moving towards a single architecture that can support our entire organisation efficiently and effectively. We’ve made it a priority to engage users in setting these priorities, ensuring that our digital transformation reflects the real needs of those delivering and receiving care.
A key component of our strategy is enabling virtual hospital models, which we believe will be crucial in meeting future healthcare demands. As we look ahead, our focus remains on delivering tangible benefits to patients while building the foundations for future innovation. The integration of AI, expansion of virtual care and implementation of patient-led booking systems are just the beginning of what promises to be an exciting period of digital evolution in healthcare.
As we continue this transformation journey, our focus remains on delivering tangible benefits to patients while building the foundations for future digital innovation.
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear more about our digital innovation transformation journey and participate in the discussion about the future of healthcare technology. Join me at Digital Health Rewired 2025, where I’ll be sharing detailed insights about our experiences and the lessons learned along the way.
By Andy Haywood Group Chief Digital Officer at NHS Humber Health Partnership