Piyush Mahapatra, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon and chief innovation officer at Open Medical, considers the latest consultation on the future of the NHS, and argues that what is needed is not a new vision, but a plan for delivery; and some radical new thinking on the role of healthcare technology.
There is a new ten-year plan for the NHS. It will “focus efforts on preventing, as well as treating ill-health”; make “out of hospital care a much larger part of what the NHS does”; and “upgrade technology and digitally enabled care.”
Are we talking about the 10 Year Health Plan that will be published next summer? Yes and no. In order, these quotes come from The NHS Plan in 2000, the Five Year Forward View in 2014, and The NHS Long Term Plan in 2019.
But they closely mirror the three shifts that the present government wants to see – from hospital to community, treatment to prevention, and analogue to digital. If these three shifts are not new, then the question is: how do we make them a reality this time?
Technology is going to be an important part of the answer, but for that to happen we need some new thinking. We need to make sure that technology is not seen as a ‘nice to have’ or even as an ‘enabler’ of change, but as an essential, everyday tool.
And we need a shift in mindset as to what that technology looks like, so that we can move away from time and capital-intensive IT programmes, and adopt revenue-funded, zero-footprint platforms that drive efficient, high-quality pathways that work for clinicians and patients alike.
Hospital to community
How does this work in practice? Consider the ‘left shift’ from hospital to community and primary care settings. This can deliver many benefits for patients, including faster access to care and reduced travel times and costs.
However, it will generally be more efficient for clinical expertise to remain in acute settings, serving larger populations. So, the key is to get the mix right, and to move aspects of the pathway, rather than the whole pathway, into the community.
Tele-dermatology is a great example of how this can be done. Diagnostic-quality photographs of skin problems can be taken in skin hubs or community diagnostic centres and sent for expert review, after which the patient can be reassured and discharged, or referred for specialist care.
This has been in the operational planning guidance for several years but many regions have still not deployed despite NHS England having funded extensive health economic studies evidencing the benefit of turnkey solutions such as eDerma, which already serves significant areas of the country.
For this to work effectively, information needs to flow between primary care, these new care settings, secondary care and the patient.
Treatment to prevention
Similarly, prevention can deliver many benefits for the system and for patients, including the avoidance of more costly treatment. However, it can be difficult to deliver in practice.
Prevention may require the analysis of large data sets, to identify suitable cohorts of patients for intervention, and ring-fenced, dedicated services to make sure they receive that intervention. So, this is another area where technology is essential.
Open Medical’s eTrauma system is used by trauma teams across the NHS to manage their orthopaedic trauma patients and theatre operation as efficiently as possible. Building on that experience, Pathpoint FLS has been developed to replace cumbersome, time-consuming, manual patient identification processes.
It provides a centralised system for patient identification and management. Then, it automatically generates the worklists and patient communications required to make sure patients are assessed and managed. Critically, Pathpoint FLS provides data to monitor outcomes.
All new services represent a cost to the NHS in terms of facilities, staff and resources; so we need to show they are delivering the cost and outcome benefits that were expected.
Analogue to digital
Tele-dermatology and fracture liaison services are good examples of the government’s first two shifts in action. But to deliver them, it is not enough to simply digitise existing records and paper-based workflows.
Since the NHS Plan, the NHS has focused on rolling out national infrastructure, electronic patient records and, more recently, shared care records to try and join-up secondary, primary, and social care. This is capital and time-intensive activity.
It can take years for a trust to procure, implement and optimise an EPR, and in that time requirements and technology will have moved on. We need to develop a more evolutionary mindset, one that embraces software-as-a-service models that can be deployed in hours and updated rapidly.
We also need to become far more clinically focused. At heart, EPRs and SCRs are repositories of patient records and operational data, in which it can be difficult for clinicians to find the referral, or note, or key piece of information that they need to help the patient in front of them.
What clinicians need are platforms that can integrate with these big record systems, to drive communications along the clinical pathway, and provide the contextual information they need to make a patient decision, when they need to make it.
New thinking on decision making, funding and technology
Some additional changes will be needed to drive the three shifts. The big question is who is going to plan and implement new models of care and preventative services.
Integrated care systems evolved out of the Five Year Forward View and should be well-placed to take on this role; but as things stand many are focused on finance and performance management.
Whatever new or revamped planning bodies emerge from the 10 Year Health Plan will need budgetary authority to implement change. At the moment, funding is directed to primary or secondary care and it needs to follow the new pathways. That money also needs to include IT, so information can move around the system.
There also needs to be a shift in thinking away from IT procurement as capital investment, and a move towards revenue-based, software-as-a-service models that can flex in response to demand and further innovation. Also on the IT front, we need a renewed focus on enabling applications and on enforcing standards, particularly for interoperability.
The NHS’ central, digital bodies could have an important role here, not by building new, national applications, but by requiring the big suppliers to open-up their systems or creating middleware to make their data accessible to smaller and more innovative companies at a reasonable cost.
From vision to execution
There are many other issues to consider. How do we persuade the NHS to run smaller, more agile technology projects that solve specific problems for clinicians and patients? How do we get more clinical involvement?
How do we make sure that we have a workforce equipped to embrace and manage all this change? How do we engage our patients, and make sure we are not increasing digital and health inequalities? However, what matters is that we ask the questions and find answers.
The government’s three shifts are well understood, so we don’t need the 10 Year Health Plan to create another vision for healthcare. What we need is for it to lay the groundwork for execution.
That means identifying decision makers, funding pathways, recognising that healthcare technology is essential for delivery, and then moving away from large, capital and time intensive IT implementations to revenue-funded, cloud-native, browser-based solutions that can scale and flex at need.
Over the past two decades, companies like Open Medical have developed the clinically-focused, patient-centric platforms that we need. Now, it’s time to use them.
2025 is set to be the year in which the government and public sector entities more actively embrace AI within their operations.
Back in October 2024, Labour MP Nick Smith revealed that the House Authorities, alongside the House of Lords administration and Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS), have been actively exploring the potential for AI and other new technologies to support the work of Members.
Sam Peters
“PDS is undertaking a cost-benefit analysis of Microsoft’s Co-Pilot AI tool, which includes AI for mailboxes,” Smith stated, acknowledging the potential for such tools to support staff in their management of day-to-day administrative activities.
It’s a noteworthy headline. Indeed, the PDS considering the use of AI tools to assist MPs reflects the growing integration of AI into public services and the desire to increase efficiency and improve service delivery.
Indeed, back in January 2024, the head of the National Audit Office, Gareth Davies, gave a speech in parliament in which he outlined that greater productivity could release tens of billions for government priorities, noting the important role that technology could play to “transform service delivery, reduce costs and improve the user experience”.
With budgets under scrutiny, the government must be seen to be practicing what it preaches, working to ensure every penny goes further. Clearly, this latest move from the PDS appears to be a step in that direction.
Effective governance is just as important as AI itself
Like many other sectors, AI has the potential to significantly modernise and improve efficiency in governance within parliamentary functions.
Indeed, AI could be used to deliver a variety of benefits that support the ambitions laid out by Gareth Davies, from enhancing productivity and increasing efficiency to optimising decision-making and improving service delivery. Yet despite the benefits, there are several key considerations that public sector entities must keep in mind when developing and deploying AI systems.
Data privacy, for example, must be made a key priority, with individuals increasingly seeking assurances that their sensitive and personal information won’t be misused by AI systems – a risk that Smith acknowledged during his speech.
“Before a pilot of Co-Pilot could happen within Parliament, there are important information rights protections to put in place to make sure that sensitive information is handled appropriately,” he stated, affirming that steps are being taken to put those protections in place.
In this sense, good governance will be just as important as the technologies themselves, with regulations now also emerging to drive the adoption of ethical AI development and deployment and safeguard sensitive information.
The European Union is leading this charge, with the EU AI Act being one of the first and comprehensive such regulations, focused on the protection of digital rights, fairness, and the elimination of algorithmic bias. However, such legislation isn’t without its critics.
Some circles argue that the EU AI Act is too strict, serving to dissuade investments into AI development due to excessive compliance demands. In the private sector, frictions have already begun to emerge, with both Apple and Meta having refused to sign the EU’s AI pact. Further, in June 2023, the former of these tech giants announced delays to the release of three new key AI features in Europe, citing “regulatory uncertainties”.
PDS: An example for others to follow?
Clearly the challenge for AI regulators is to strike the right balance between sustaining public safety without impeding the potential merits that these technologies can provide.
For this reason, in the case of the UK, the PDS’s exploration of AI tools is particularly interesting. Given that it is the responsibility of the government to strike this balance, parliament’s own approach to AI adoption will be closely watched, setting an example which others may follow.
Scrutiny or not, the PDS will have much to consider to get this right, with some of the key priorities likely to include:
Ensuring that important government and public data is protected.
Ensuring that it adheres to GDPR alongside other relevant legislation.
Ensuring that AI tools are driven by transparent, auditable decision-making processes so that constituents can understand how AI is being used to serve them.
Ensure that algorithmic biases are avoided in critical public-sector applications.
Data privacy and compliance are incredibly sensitive issues, yet ticking each of these vital boxes will not be easy. In effort to do so, it would be wise for the PDS to lean heavily on establish frameworks that have been specifically designed to guide organisations in achieving best AI practices.
Looking to key standards: ISO 42001
Enter ISO 42001 – the latest standard for AI management systems that aims to help ensure their responsible development, deployment and operation.
Placing significant emphasis on factors such as transparency, accountability, bias identification and mitigation, safety and privacy, its goal is to ensure that AI systems are built and implemented safely and ethically.
For the PDS, ISO 42001 could provide a roadmap that may be used to identify, evaluate and mitigate the risks associated with AI, ensuring that they can properly protect important government information and constituent data. Equally, it can provide a pathway through which the PDS can streamline its AI processes, identify and rectify vulnerabilities earlier, and reduce the potential financial and reputational costs associated with AI failures.
At ISMS.online, we recommend leaning heavily on ISO 42001 for good reason: it is likely to become a key benchmark for AI management systems in the future, and so leveraging it now will enable organisations and departments of all shapes and sizes to embrace best practices from the outset, rather than playing catch up or taking action only in the wake of a crisis.
By adhering to these compliance standards and addressing ethical considerations properly, parliament will be well placed to get this right and set a benchmark for responsible AI adoption that other government departments and organisations across the country can in turn follow.
Sodexo has published its Social Impact Pledge 2030, setting out new clear and ambitious commitments to create meaningful impact for its people, planet, places and partners in the UK over the next five years.
2025 marks ten years since the publication of Sodexo’s first social impact pledge and transparent reporting of its progress and success. Over the course of the last decade, Sodexo has evolved its commitments in line with the changes in legislation and in business and societal priorities.
Today’s publication of its Social Impact Pledge 2030: everyone, every day, everywhere represents the next phase in the company’s social impact strategy, recognising how much more there is still to do, building on the foundations of the last ten years, how complex societal challenges are and how its understanding of those challenges has deepened.
Sodexo recognises that addressing these, by delivering on the commitments within its Social Impact Pledge 2030, requires every one of its 30,000 employees in the UK and Ireland to embrace them and take action every day.
Split into four impact pathways, Sodexo’s 2030 vision is:
People: Sodexo will nurture inclusive and equitable workplaces, measuring its progress through its position on the Social Mobility Employer Index.
As a large employer, Sodexo knows it has the power to be a driver of social mobility everywhere that it operates. Sodexo will continue to promote equitable opportunities with examples of its work in this area including providing access to apprenticeships; driving sustainable employment for individuals with criminal convictions and supporting veterans, reservists and military families find employment opportunities.
Planet: Sodexo will continue to decarbonise its business, staying on track for Net Zero 2040.
The business will do this by following the science, taking steps such as re-baselining, as its knowledge and systems evolve and its understanding of the data and how it is used continues to improve. Sodexo’s near-term target to reduce its emissions across all three scopes by 55% is 31 August 2030.
Acknowledging it can’t achieve this alone, Sodexo supports its supply partners, who account for 38% of its emissions, through its award-winning engagement programme. Tackling food waste remains a high priority and Sodexo remains committed to incorporating sustainable procurement into its sourcing strategies. The company also continues to take a world-leading role in encouraging the adoption of sustainable eating and low-carbon meals.
Places: By 2030 the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation will have supported more than 12.5 million direct and indirect beneficiaries**
The Foundation celebrates 20 years in the UK & Ireland in 2025 and is committed to working with a diverse range of charity partners, supporting national and regional projects, large and small.
As the Foundation’s strategy continues to evolve, it anticipates having a more transformational impact with a further 2 million beneficiaries expected over the next five years. Its work will remain focused on fundraising, grants giving, providing meaningful volunteering opportunities to Sodexo colleagues and fostering collaboration and knowledge sharing with its extensive network and charity partners.
Partners: We will increase diversity in our supply chain and spend over £1 billion with SMEs and diverse suppliers by 2030.
Sodexo will continue to support its supply partners in their journeys to net zero through its engagement programme. As pioneers of the BSA Modern Slavery Council, Sodexo will play a key role in evolving and expanding this into Ireland to further reduce risk and raise awareness through radical collaboration.
Jean Renton, Chief Operating Officer, Sodexo UK & Ireland said: “When Pierre Bellon founded Sodexo, he understood that people’s daily environment – whether at work, in school or in hospital – has a profound impact on their wellbeing, productivity and happiness. He created a business to provide services that add true value to those daily environments. From serving nutritious and sustainable meals, to delivering welcoming and functioning spaces. It’s just how we do business.
“Through our new Pledge, which launches nearly 60 years later, we are building on that legacy to add ever more value for the people, businesses and communities whose lives we touch.
“Today we face new complex societal challenges, and it is right that our commitments evolve to reflect those. Our Social Impact Pledge 2030 illustrates our mission to foster a more sustainable, equitable and inclusive future, with every one of our 30,000 colleagues playing a role every day in delivering this positive change.
“I truly believe that if we accomplish what we have set out today, we have every reason to be confident of a better tomorrow.”
Guy Battle, CEO, Social Value Portal commented: “I would like to congratulate Sodexo on the impact it has had since the launch of its first pledge 10 years ago, and on these ambitious new commitments. It is so important for businesses such as Sodexo – as a major UK employer – to take the lead on issues such as social mobility and sustainability.
“This is what makes them such valued members of the National Social Value Taskforce. I have long been impressed by the company’s purpose-driven ethos, and how this manifests throughout their business practices – from their supply chain, through to their client sites. I look forward to seeing Sodexo deliver on this pledge.”
Angela Maragna is a transformation and change leader with expertise in driving digital innovation, co-director of One HealthTech, and a member of the HETT Steering Committee.
Here, she shares her excitement about HETT North in Manchester and tells visitors about the many agenda sessions, features, and networking opportunities they can expect.
Angela Maragna
Angela Maragna didn’t begin her career in the NHS. In fact, she started out in investment banking and ran a homeless charity in South London before she joined the Care Quality Commission.
Since then, however, she worked for the NHS for 20 years, holding senior roles at NHS Digital and NHS England, before leaving in 2023 to pursue a freelance consulting and advisory career. She now advises Liaison Workforce, Channel 3 and Healthia, and is interim director of change for the General Chiropractic Council.
For the past eight years, she has also helped to steer her “passion” One HealthTech, a buzzing, grassroots, volunteer-powered movement that is on a mission to make health, care, and life sciences more equitable, inclusive, and accessible for all.
“Eight years ago, I got a secondment from NHS Digital to One HealthTech. It was only for six months, but I stayed longer and now I’m co-director,” she says. “It’s my passion, because it’s all about being a place for conversations that spark collaboration, turn ideas about equality and accessibility into action, and bring communities alive.”
Shaping the health tech agenda
The desire to create connections also led Angela to Healthcare Excellence Through Technology (HETT), which is getting ready to hold the HETT North conference and exhibition in Manchester at the end of February.
“One HealthTech prides itself on being super-friendly and informal. It’s ‘leave your badge at the door’, whoever you are, and get involved – and that’s the vibe I want for HETT,” she says. Angela also works with the other advisory committee members to shape the HETT agenda.
This year, HETT North will take place just seven months after the general election, and as the government gets ready to finalise the 10 Year Health Plan that will enact its three shifts from hospital to community, treatment to prevention, and analogue to digital.
A minister will deliver a ‘special address’ at the start of the day to set the scene, after which there will be a panel debate on how to deliver ‘innovation without borders’ and build ‘a scalable, financially supported, and modern NHS’.
Artificial intelligence, cyber security, and technology to support everything from productivity to prevention and mental health to women’s health are also on the agenda. And Angela says the committee wanted to find novel and northern takes on these subjects.
“HETT North is such a great opportunity for people who are not based in London or the South to get together and discuss the big issues facing the industry,” she says. “Manchester is very accessible, so it’s a great opportunity to learn about what is going on and what other people are doing: to make those meaningful connections.”
Big opportunities for NHS staff – and patients
In her last role at NHS England, Angela was head of improving people practices. She led teams leading the implementation of flexible working across the NHS and enabling staff to move freely from one job to another using digital tools.
So, for her, another exciting aspect of HETT North is its focus on workforce and on how technology can help organisations to work smarter and safer. “There are so many worrying statistics,” Angela says. “The NHS is short of 100,000 secondary care staff, while there are more than 160,000 vacant posts in social care.
“The NHS staff survey suggests one in five staff want to leave within the next year – and one in six want to leave as soon as possible. We need to address that, by using digital tools to improve working lives.”
For this to happen, she adds, staff need to be involved in design and implementation, because systems that don’t integrate, or require multiple clicks to carry out basic tasks, can make working lives worse. “I spent a lot of time in hospital last year because my dad was ill, and it was eye opening,” she says.
“While my Dad had amazing care, the technology is still outdated and not fit for purpose. Occasionally staff were still doing observations on napkins. Patients had to repeat their medical history every time they moved wards, or missed tests and appointments because their details didn’t follow them.
“I disagree that the NHS is ‘broken’ because the people in it do such amazing work, but the opportunities to make it better are huge and we need to get everybody involved in realising them.”
Addressing the equality agenda
As the NHS moves from analogue to digital, it will be particularly important to make sure it does not worsen health and digital inequalities. Angela and other leaders from One HealthTech will be holding a workshop session on ‘championing equity in digital health leadership’ to address this.
“We want to create a conversation about whether we are really tackling equity and inequality,” she says. “We are going to put out a survey to ask people ahead of HETT North about the key issues in their organisations and lessons that others can learn from.
“Then, we’ll have a workshop at the show, which we’ll write up as a blog for people who can’t attend.” The workshop is one of a number of innovative features at HETT North that are being run to add learning and networking opportunities for visitors.
Other features include a breakout session on ‘bridging the knowledge gap’ or new learning approaches in digital health, a round table on ‘AI for good?’ and events showcasing the Federation for Informatics Professionals and the Health Innovation Networks.
HETT North will also host an exhibition for up to 50 innovative health tech companies, with an ‘innovative trail’ to enable visitors to take a curated journey around the stands that will align precisely with their goals. And it will close with a networking drinks reception, where visitors can unwind and – once again – connect.
Take a buddy, find a friend – make connections
“I would really encourage people to go to HETT North,” Angela concludes. If you’re feeling unsure about attending a big event like this, don’t worry – there are so many ways to make it easier. You can go as an observer and simply take in the sessions at your own pace.
“Bring a buddy along. Or strike up a conversation with someone in the coffee queue – it’s a fantastic way to connect with others. These events are such a valuable opportunity to learn about what’s working for others, explore new ideas, and see what suppliers have to offer.
“Personally, I can’t wait to attend, soak up the energy, and collaborate with others to improve health outcomes for patients and staff alike.”
Advanced analytics provide real time visibility and assessment of environmental conditions within the property, such as risk of damp and mould
Vericon Systems, a leading manufacturer of remote technologies to manage and control essential building services, has launched HomeHub, a sophisticated in-property device that has been specifically developed to help Housing Associations and property managers monitor and manage their resident’s living environment.
HomeHub, with its intuitive user-friendly touchscreen, provides real-time visibility into environmental conditions within a property, such as humidity levels and alerting residents to potential issues such as damp and mould, by assessing the risk in each room every five minutes rather than providing a general view over a 24-hour period.
Thanks to its intelligent machine learning, the HomeHub system ‘learns’ the property’s unique heating characteristics, enabling it to accurately calculate the time needed to achieve the desired temperature. This data can also help landlords and property managers better identify properties with inefficient heating systems or inadequate insulation, providing valuable insights for optimisation and improvement.
HomeHub enables direct communication between landlords and residents, including proactive communication with residents, available in multiple languages, to address concerns or when an issue occurs, with regular updates to provide tenants with reassurance that the relevant parties are working to resolve the issue.
In the event of maintenance or repair works being required, the device’s Track My Repair feature enables residents to follow their case with a simple flow chart that automatically updates once each milestone is reached with detailed notes and information, and a full audit log for both residents and landlords. The system can also be used by property managers to notify residents of any disruption to boiler performance, providing reasons for the interruption and contact details to schedule an engineer visit, as well as provide reminders for booking annual gas safety checks.
With remote update capabilities, HomeHub can be continuously enhanced and tailored to meet evolving needs, offering landlords a convenient and adaptable solution for managing their residents living spaces effectively.
Bernard Cook, Managing Director at Vericon System, says HomeHub has been specifically designed to promote resident engagement and provide housing providers with a deeper understanding of their tenant’s environment: “HomeHub not only facilitates environmental monitoring but also provides a platform for housing providers to foster proactive and seamless communication with residents.
“HomeHub works to promptly and proactively address the challenges posed by poor environmental conditions. While various issues may contribute to the problem, it’s crucial to identify the root cause. With it’s intelligent analytics and AI learning, the system autonomously alerts the HomeHub device to inform landlords and residents of the issue with recommended actions. This proactive approach provides a deeper understanding of the living environment and enables housing providers to make informed decisions to improve conditions for residents.”
Matrix Workforce Management Solutions is excited to announce the roll out of its bespoke Myth-Busting Apprenticeship Workshops, taking place during the UK’s National Apprenticeship Week from February 10th to 14th, 2025. Designed and hosted by the Matrix Social Value Team, this initiative aims to provide clear, honest insights into apprenticeships while dispelling common misconceptions.
Jodie Champaneria
The workshops – running around the UK throughout National Apprenticeship Week – will offer participants a comprehensive overview of apprenticeships, covering key topics such as the combination of study and work, salary expectations and career progression opportunities. Apprenticeships remain a powerful career pathway with qualifications available from GCSE-equivalent levels up to full degree certifications. This year’s sessions will continue to highlight the breadth of industries covered by apprenticeships, including business, healthcare and engineering – alongside less commonly known fields such as accountancy and even zookeeping.
Jodie Champaneria, Senior Social Value Officer at Matrix, commented, “Apprenticeships open doors to fantastic career opportunities, yet many misconceptions still exist. Our goal is to empower individuals from the age of 16 with accurate information so they can make informed decisions about their future. We’re thrilled to be working with a range of organisations and partners this year to bring these myth-busting workshops to even more people. The theme of National Apprenticeship Week this year is Skills For Life and Matrix’s Social Value team are committed to giving people skills for life whilst connecting people to work.”
A range of informal workshops and events will take place as part of this initiative, in partnerships with local councils, charities and colleges to support individuals in enhancing their employability skills. Activities will include interview success workshops, decision-making sessions, employability masterclasses and LinkedIn enhancement classes, offered both virtually and in person.
The week kicks off on Monday, February 10th, with the Myth-Busting Apprenticeship Workshops, featuring sessions for partners across various communities, including The Capital City College Group and Mind in Hillingdon. Additional workshops will be held at Lewisham’s Elevate100 Hub and New City College, with virtual participation also available. On Tuesday, Matrix will lead Myth-Busting Apprenticeships and Decision-Making workshops for YMCA and Thurrock Council, alongside a careers fair at Harrogate College. Midweek will see the employability masterclasses, LinkedIn workshops and apprenticeship insight sessions taking place at Islington Council and the City of London Academy. Finally, on Thursday, Matrix will be part of Islington Council’s ‘Step into Apprenticeships’ event and will engage with sixth-form students at St Aloysius, wrapping up a week dedicated to empowering individuals with essential career skills.
Champaneria concludes, “It’s going to be a busy but exciting week and this initiative emphasises our commitment to supporting individuals in making well-informed career choices and we are so excited to be part of another impactful National Apprenticeship Week”.
By Nicola Maynard, Prison Law Partner at Reeds Solicitors
The Labour government in 2005 introduced the IPP sentence where prisoners were given no maximum tariff and ended up becoming trapped in a revolving door.
However, under the Conservative government in 2012 IPP sentence were abolished due to matters concerning human rights. This was a welcome relief to many prisoners however the change was not made retrospectively and many prisoners are still trapped in the system.
Nicola Maynard
Now we have the Labour Government back into power and have introduced a new bill to resentence IPP prisoners. This draft bill would be welcoming news for many prisoners and campaigners. They will feel that recent changes made to the law concerning IPP sentence have not gone far enough to address the issue of the inhumane sentence that was abolished in 2012.
Recent reforms have seen an overhaul of the process in which an IPP prisoners can apply for their licence to be terminated. Previously the criteria for this was that you had to be in the Community for 10 years in order to be considered. Then recently the Victims and Prisoners bill saw changes that went further to this. This means that subject to qualifying criteria, this could drop to 2 years or 5 years.
As we can see recent changes have been made to the IPP sentence however more can be done in order to completely abolish the IPP sentence.
For prisoners this new Bill, if passed, could be a collective sigh of relief as they are felt that they are a huge Burden on an already underfunded Criminal Justice System. Many of these sentences were as low as 18 months but despite this there are a large number if IPP prisoners still in custody on recall or some of which have never been released.
The impact caused by the IPP sentence and their Mental Health has been catastrophic. The not knowing when you would ever be released has also caused many prisoners to take their own life. A example of this would be the case of Matthew Price who took his own life due to his mental health being affected by the impact of the IPP sentence.
The coroner in that case raised concerns about the mental health of prisoners serving the IPP sentences. The coroner further referred to the Independent Monitoring Boards report named ‘’The Impact of IPP sentences on prisoners wellbeing dated May 2023’’.
It should be noted that this report was written after the conservative government rejected the proposals made by the justice select committee for the re-sentencing for anyone serving the IPP sentence.
The above would be another example why changes to the IPP sentence are long overdue, the previous changes to the IPP sentence were going in the right direction however did not go far enough to completely abolish them.
So why have the proposals made previously now a draft bill?
The answer to that may be due to a new government coming into power or the impact caused by the IPP sentence to prisoners overs the years.
The proposed bill would outline a process which will of course cost time and money but not nearly as much as the burden the IPP sentence has on the criminal justice system at present.
Currently the prison system and Criminal Justice System in the UK is at a breaking point. This Bill would be welcomed by those campaigners including families and prisoners serving the IPP sentence that finally can see some hope in the process. The IPP sentence has been described by Lord Brown as “the greatest single stain on our criminal justice system”.
Will the government approve the Bill?
The Justice Secretary and Senior Judiciary have all opposed this and Labour MPs are likely to be whipped to oppose the Bill.
So, in the end it is very unlikely that the Bill will have any little chance of becoming law. Why? Likely down to the costs and resources, such as Court staff, Court time and solicitors.
Even if the bill does not become law, we have seen over the years the changes that have been implemented to the IPP sentences having a positive effect on prisoners who have been waiting for some hope.
It may take time to completely abolish the IPP sentences and it is vital that the public and campaigners keep fighting and not to lose hope by holding the government to account.
Volunteer-run repair cafes are helping people, nature and our climate by fixing over 21,000 items for free, saving money and reducing waste. It has reached an extraordinary milestone saving people over £1m in free repairs.
Repair Café Wales is encouraging people to repair rather than replace a broken item during ‘Fix-it February’ and beyond, by taking something to their local repair café to be fixed for free. Repair Cafe Wales are aiming to fix 1,000 items over the month, which would save as much carbon as taking a car off the road for 360,000 miles.
Anyone can bring a broken or damaged item to a repair café where volunteers can help fix it for free – ranging from electronics and clothing to furniture and household appliances. Repair cafés help people make the most of the items they already have to help tackle ‘throwaway culture’.
The Welsh Government’s Circular Economy Fund has invested in community organisations like Repair Café Wales, which has expanded its network to over 140 repair cafés across the country. Every month they help hundreds of people make their belongings last.
Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister with responsibility for Climate Change, visited a repair café in Carmarthen. He brought a damaged cycling glove which was repaired by a volunteer during his visit.
He said: “The success of Repair Café Wales shows what our communities can achieve by working together. Powered by 1,000 dedicated volunteers each month, repair cafés are not just fixing items, they’re taking action to help the climate and saving people money. Small changes really add up to make a difference.
“This, combined with Wales becoming second in the world for municipal recycling, shows real progress towards ending throwaway culture and growing a greener economy.”
Phoebe Brown, Director of Repair Café Wales, said: “We are incredibly proud of this achievement, which is testament to the effort and skill of our brilliant volunteers. Having an item, such as a bike or laptop, fixed for free at one of our repair cafes can result in a significant financial saving for a local family, which is particularly beneficial in this current climate.”
The zombie knife ban that came into force in September has removed tens of thousands of weapons from sale in England and Wales, even if there is controversy about its cost.
The fact that one wholesaler surrendered more than 35,000 such knives gives an indication of the scale of the problem.
As welcome as the new legislation is, it can only go so far in keeping the public safe and reducing potential harm. Many knives are still in circulation. The twice-yearly Sceptre week of anti-knife crime action in November yielded nearly 10,000 knives across England and Wales, for example.
The Home Office faces a tough challenge in meeting its aim to halve knife crime and serious violence within a decade, considering that the number of offences involving a knife or sharp instrument increased by seven per cent last year.
Events in public spaces present their own challenges, attracting large crowds in what are often loosely defined areas. The 2024 Christmas market attack in the German city of Magdeburg, although involving a vehicle, reveals the significant threat facing the public during seasonal and one-off events with high footfall.
Here in the UK, there are definite steps we should take to improve security at events in public spaces where policing is often stretched and the movement of crowds unpredictable. We need a fresh approach to emergency response plans, including lockdown procedures. Counter Terrorism Policing has rightly warned the public to be vigilant and offers risk assessment tools for businesses, but these measures can only go so far.
It would be good practice for the Home Office to increase collaboration with technology partners and those in charge of large public spaces to combat the threats, especially in relation to knife crime.
We need thoroughly planned procedures to be placed based on previous experience, intelligence and local knowledge. Knife crime comes in different forms including robbery and gang violence as well as terror and lone-wolf incidents. Authorities need to think through each case and train staff appropriately, ensuring they are properly located and connected.
Part of the planning should include deployment of technology such as a mass communication system that can provide instant, concise instructions to the public during an incident when people are looking for immediate guidance.
Authorised personnel can use a software-based app to initiate an instant broadcast via all available channels, covering audio, screen and mobile, from any portable communication device. The latest communication technology enables use of live AI-driven text-to-speech to be broadcast instantaneously to multiple zoned areas.
Full coverage utilising clear, concise and calm emergency messages ensures everyone is made aware of a threat. Different messages or instructions sent immediately and simultaneously to different areas ensure people are directed to the closest exits or safe areas.
This is a major gain when public events can involve the attendance of families with small children. These groups will quickly take their own course of action when there is messaging vacuum, or a public address system is broadcasting undifferentiated warnings. A single inflexible message that does not differ between floors and areas may inadvertently direct people towards threats and away from safe exits.
It is a major advantage to have these advanced and highly responsive zoned communication systems that can quickly disseminate different messages advising people in each zone on the safest course of action. This accords with guidance from the National Protective Security Authority and Counter Terrorism Policing about the ability to deliver different messages to different zones.
Knife threats, sad to say, are not going to disappear instantaneously. Zoned mass communication systems accompanied by thorough planning and preparation, offer a flexible, reliable and effective way to protect the public at events and similar gatherings.
£173 million deal with Draken to train and prepare our Armed Forces for a range of threats, including missile attacks and air-to-air combat.
Boost for British jobs and growth, supporting Government’s Plan for Change with 200 long-term UK jobs and apprenticeships.
New contract will support Teesside International Airport, maintaining vital infrastructure in the North-East.
A £173 million Ministry of Defence training contract with British business Draken will boost Teesside International Airport and support jobs across Teesside, Bournemouth and the Midlands – delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change.
In addition to strengthening our national security, the deal will maintain vital infrastructure in the North East and support more than 200 UK jobs. The new contract will deliver Armed Forces training for responding to a range of threats – including air-to-air combat, electronic warfare and missile attacks.
Using a fleet of aircraft, Draken will simulate threats for UK personnel, including:
Air-to-air combat.
Missile attacks.
Attacks on ships from aircraft.
Defence Minister Maria Eagle announced the deal today on a visit to Teesside International Airport. The Minister spoke with staff and apprentices, reinforcing the Government’s commitment to boosting national security and economic growth.
The project will help deliver the government’s Plan for Change by strengthening national security and supporting the mission to kickstart economic growth. It also follows the launch of the Defence Industrial Strategy, which will ensure the defence sector is an engine for growth in every region and nation of the UK.
Defence Minister Maria Eagle
Through live exercises with UK personnel over the North Sea, Draken private pilots will replicate the tactics and techniques of a range of adversaries.
Using the latest electronic warfare technology, Draken will also train Royal Naval personnel to protect Carrier Strike Group assets from air and missile attacks and train Army personnel to quickly receive reconnaissance and intelligence information on enemy forces from the air.
Altogether, this training will ensure that our Armed Forces receive demanding and realistic training, meeting NATO standards.
Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle MP, said:
“This investment will deliver world-class training for our Armed Forces and boost British business, jobs and national security.
“In line with our Plan for Change and upcoming Defence Industrial Strategy, this deal with Draken will support 200 UK jobs and ensure the future of Teesside International Airport.
“We are showing defence can be an engine for growth, in every region and nation.”
To deliver the training, Draken will use 14 Dassault Falcon 20, one Diamond DA42 and eight L-159E ‘Honey Badger’ fighter jets based at Teesside and Bournemouth. Draken will enrol a minimum of 12 apprentices at both sites.
Air Officer Commanding 1 Group, Air Vice Marshal Mark Flewin said:
“Our partnership with Draken is of fundamental importance as we continue to train and prepare all of our front-line forces to meet emerging threats across the globe.
“The training delivered to date, simulating adversary threats while also allowing us to train in a representative and contested electro-magnetic environment, has never been more important to ensure the Royal Air Force is ready and able to support NATO and meet the threats of tomorrow.
“The contract will allow us to continue to evolve the high-end training available for all of our front-line forces, as we look to out-compete our potential adversaries.”
Nic Anderson, CEO at Draken, said:
“We are proud to continue serving the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Army through the Interim Medium Speed Operational Readiness Training Services.
“Our purpose is to provide leading edge operational training to help the warfighter to be ready to fight and win. Through this ground-breaking contract we will continually innovate to improve their training experience.
“Thank you to the whole Draken team who work relentlessly to support our customers, it is the high performance that the Draken team delivers every day that has enabled this contract win.”
Commenting on the Chancellor’s speech on kickstarting economic growth, Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes said:
“I welcome the Chancellor’s attempt to outline an economic plan, after the very legitimate concerns around her approach to growth which have been raised by many since the UK Budget, in particular the damaging decision to raise employers’ national insurance contributions.
“However, I am deeply disappointed in the lack of any initiatives which would directly benefit Scotland – especially given our energy expertise, strengths in new technologies like space and AI, world-leading universities and colleges, highly skilled workforce and our reputation as a world-class entrepreneurial nation.
“For instance, there is no mention of Grangemouth and I am concerned that UK Government investment is being further concentrated in prosperous areas in the South East of England and around Oxford and Cambridge. This will deepen concerns that Scotland is being treated as an afterthought by this UK Government. “The Scottish Government is focused on delivering economic growth and jobs. For example, we are committing up to £500 million over five years to boost private investment in the offshore wind supply chain by up to £1.5 billion, while this week the First Minister signed an agreement with the City of London Corporation to bolster Scotland’s finance sector and secure further investment.”
Bringing a passion for nursing and safety she looks forward to being part of a leading forum for debate on the big issues shaping health tech and the digital health industry
Sam Neville
Leading chief nursing information officer Sam Neville is joining the Highland Marketing advisory board. Sam brings a passion for nursing and safety to the board, which debates the big issues in NHS IT and advises the specialist health tech agency and its clients.
She has been a nurse for 30 years and became interested in the potential of digital in healthcare when she led an e-NEWS scoring implementation at what is now Mid and South Essex NHS Trust. She is currently associate director of clinical applications and CNIO at the trust, as well as regional CNIO and clinical safety officer for the East of England.
“People often ask me: ‘Are you still a nurse?’,” she said. “And I say: ‘Yes, I am still a registered nurse, but I am using that to make sure IT works for nurses and midwives.’ For that reason, I like to be involved in a wide range of organisations and forums, so I can support through shared learning from my multi-faceted roles and gain new insights.
“As a jobbing CNIO, I thought the Highland Marketing advisory board looked like a great opportunity. I am really looking forward to hearing from such a diverse group of digital health experts and I am confident I can give things back, by bringing the nursing perspective to bear.”
Sam started her career at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital NHS Trust, where she developed an interest in surgery. She held a series of increasingly senior positions, including head of nursing and quality surgical services, before spending a decade as a matron.
From there, she developed her interest in digital after seeing the potential of the e-observation and NEWS scoring system to make information about patient status visible to clinical and operational teams, so they could use it to deliver optimal care.
Sam went on to become clinical informatics lead nurse and then CNIO five years’ ago. She added her regional responsibilities two years’ ago, and now splits her work week between the trust and the region to bring together a holistic approach to digital transformation in clinical practice.
Her expertise meant she was also asked to contribute to the Phillips-Ives Review, which was set up by the previous government to review the digital skills of nurses and midwives and to make recommendations about the capabilities, education and training they will need in the future.
The review has not been published, but Sam argues it should inform the digital elements of the 10 Year Health Plan due next year. “People still say that nurses are not digitally literate, but that is not true these days,” she says.
“There are many nurses coming into the profession who have grown up with smart phones and are eager to use the kind of technology at work that they use in their day to day lives. We need to make sure they have good, usable systems and the right capabilities to do that.”
Mark Venables, chief executive of Highland Marketing, said: “It is excellent news that Sam has agreed to join our advisory board. Nurses and midwives make a third of the total NHS workforce, so it is vital that their perspective is considered when digital developments are being discussed, planned, and implemented.
“Sam will bring that perspective to the advisory board’s discussions, and provide vital insight for our clients, who work in all areas of health and medtech.”
Highland Marketing is an established research, PR, marketing and content agency with more than 20 years’ experience in digital health.
It currently employs or works with more than 30 experts in strategy, campaigns, and sales acceleration, as well as contributing to the wider development of its sector, through the work of its advisory board, and its partnerships with health and med tech organisations.
Promoting Diversity, Inclusion and Supporting the Generation of Industry Professionals
The Information and Records Management Society (IRMS) is offering bursary places for the IRMS Conference 2025, as part of its commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion, and helping young people get a head start in the industry. The fully funded places are available for the three-day event, which takes place in Birmingham between 18th and 20th May 2025.
The IRMS Conference is the flagship event for the industry, providing an unrivalled opportunity to network, share the latest thinking, and learn about the latest technology and its application, regulatory challenges and societal issues. This year, the conference will focus on five strands – Artificial Intelligence; Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and G-Suite; Sustainability and Environmental Impact; Knowledge Management and Data Governance; Professional Development and Practical Skills – with 50 speakers from the public and private sectors including the Information Commissioner’s Office, Microsoft and Google Workspace.
IRMS Conference Director, Paulina Jedwabska, comments: “Many people working in information and records management are burdened with a great deal of responsibility, yet are not part of large teams, making it difficult to access good advice and to learn from the experiences of others. This is especially true for young people entering the industry.” Jedwabska adds: “As an industry, we also need to do more to promote inclusivity and diversity, by raising awareness of the many different career opportunities and the support that is available. This is why each year we set aside fully funded bursary places.”
Each bursary place is worth £1,499+VAT and includes access to all IRMS conference sessions, food and refreshments, evening social events, and two nights B&B accommodation at the Hilton Birmingham (NEC) hotel. Delegates will need to cover their transport costs to and from the conference.
A recipient of an IRMS bursary in 2024 commented on the experience: “I knew that the IRMS Conference would be a great opportunity to meet new people, learn about emerging trends in the records management profession, and to improve my skill set. Everyone should attend an IRMS conference at least once.”
The deadline for bursary applications is Friday 28th February 2025. For more information regarding eligibility and to apply visit: irmsconference.org.uk/bursaries
Following a competitive tender, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters, has awarded a contract to Smurfit Kappa Security Concepts (SKSC) for the supply of tobacco tax stamps.
Under the terms of the deal, SKSC will be responsible for the printing and supply of the tax stamps to be applied to specified tobacco products for the Irish market to help ensure that the products are legitimate, and duty paid.
Each stamp protects a significant amount of revenue to the Irish Government and therefore to combat fraud and ensure revenue is protected, SKSC has designed the stamps to contain numerous cutting edge security features, some of which are SKSC exclusive developments.
Peter Thomas, Managing Director at SKSC, said: “The fact that we have held this prestigious contract for over 20 years is testament to our bespoke, dynamic and innovative solutions, that are designed to make the world a safer place, helping to protect against criminal elements. We keep up to date with the latest fraud and counterfeit trends, designing products to combat future attacks and address the ever-improving technological techniques used by ‘bad actors’.”
Scopism, the global leader in service integration and management (SIAM) best practices, has released the Global SIAM Survey 2024 results in a new White Paper sponsored by Sofigate. This year marks the seventh edition of the annual survey, providing unparalleled insights into SIAM adoption, maturity, and emerging trends across 38 countries. As more Government’a adopt a SIAM approach, with a call for tenders from the Home Office, the survey findings are more relevant than ever.
The 2024 survey gathered responses from over 250 participants representing a diverse range of industries and organizational sizes. Key highlights include detailed data on organizations adopting or planning to adopt SIAM.
Jyri Kosonen (L) and Markus Aalto from Sofigate
This year, a series of questions about AI and its impact and potential within SIAM frameworks were added to the survey. Claire Agutter, Scopism’s Director, commented:
“The Global SIAM Survey continues to be a vital resource for practitioners and organizations worldwide. This year’s addition of AI-related questions reflects the growing interest in leveraging advanced technologies within SIAM frameworks. We look forward to sharing some fascinating results, and we’re grateful to Sofigate for their support in making this white paper possible.”
Sofigate, a Nordic leader in ITSM and digital transformation, sees AI as a key player in shaping the future of SIAM. Jyri Kosonen from Sofigate said:
“Many ITSM platforms now offer out-of-box AI functionalities, streamlining areas like incident and change management. It’s exciting to see how organizations will harness these capabilities.”
Markus Aalto from Sofigate added: “The survey responses align with what we at Sofigate are seeing with the customers that we are helping with SIAM. They usually have large ecosystems with many external services and suppliers. So it’s about control and following the same club rules in the ecosystem. We can see more that companies have also started to realize that they have to have the same processes applied in the ecosystem to utilize artificial intelligence and automation effectively. IT platforms can enable service, but the processes need to govern the users and suppliers to use the platform in order to enrich it with data that AI can learn from and use for building automation.”
The Global SIAM Survey 2024 White paper offers a comprehensive breakdown, covering
organizational insights, the challenges and benefits of SIAM adoption and how AI technologies impact SIAM models. The Global SIAM Survey 2024 White Paper will officially launch on 25th January 2025. You can register for the launch event here: beexecutiveevents.com/webinar/globalchat-siam-survey-2024/
Ecoblend, developed by Day Group, emerges as a pioneering brand leading the charge towards sustainable aggregates in construction projects. Currently distributed by Day Aggregates and GRS Roadstone, Ecoblend is set to transform materials resourcing in the construction industry.
With a focus on eco-conscious practices, Ecoblend delivers customers the opportunity to utilise sustainable manufactured aggregates, spearheading a shift towards environmentally responsible materials. The range includes crushed concrete, crushed asphalt, and a blended aggregate incorporating incinerator bottom ash (IBA).
At its core, Ecoblend champions sustainability through its flagship product, Ecoblend MA. Designed for a multitude of applications, including sub-base construction and road capping, Ecoblend MA represents a modern, sustainable aggregate for Type 1 and 6F5 applications. Blending refined IBA aggregate with natural crushed stone achieves high performance at a lower cost while reducing environmental impact.
This advanced manufacturing process not only diverts waste from landfills but also significantly cuts CO2 emissions. Every tonne of Ecoblend MA purchased saves 231 black bin bags of waste from landfills [1] and reduces the need to quarry finite primary aggregate, thus conserving our precious natural resources.
Embodying its commitment to sustainability, the Ecoblend brand identity visually reinforces its focus on repurposing by-products from demolition, construction, and municipal waste through its trademark, representing supply continuity, the blending process, and the journey towards a circular economy. Complemented by the strapline “Sustainable aggregates for the built environment,” Ecoblend is committed to providing environmentally considerate aggregate solutions for the construction industry.
James Day, Managing Director of Day Group, emphasises:
“Ecoblend epitomises our dedication to catalysing change and embracing sustainability in aggregates. As the industry shifts towards environmentally responsible materials, Ecoblend leads the way, inspiring stakeholders to adopt sustainable solutions.”
To mark its launch, Ecoblend initiates an extensive awareness campaign and unveils a dedicated website offering comprehensive guidance and material calculation tools for customers in the building and construction industry.
[1] One tonne of Ecoblend MA is equivalent to three tonnes of municipal waste. Figures are based on waste having an average density of 0.2 kg/l and black bin bags having an average capacity of 60 litres per bag.
Workforce Management Solutions, Matrix is proud to announce increased scope on the G-Cloud 14 framework, further cementing their position as a leading provider of workforce solutions to the public sector. This milestone underscores Matrix’s dedication to delivering innovative, reliable and efficient services to meet the dynamic needs of public sector organisations.
Through the G-Cloud 14 framework, Matrix will be able to offer streamlined access to their existing solutions plus the addition of pre-employment screening through Matrix Security Watchdog – empowering public sector organisations to source their services quickly and confidently. Matrix service offerings are tailored to meet both foundational and advanced requirements, ensuring flexibility and compliance with the highest industry standards.
The G-Cloud framework simplifies public sector procurement, enabling organisations to contract with proven suppliers more efficiently. With G-Cloud 14, enhancements such as a 36-month contract duration, updated compliance measures and a rigorous application process strengthen its value for both clients and suppliers. For Matrix, this achievement highlights their consistent delivery of quality solutions and positions them to support even more organisations across the UK.
Robert Priest, Business Development Manager at Matrix, said: “Expanding our offering on the G-Cloud 14 framework is a significant achievement for Matrix, reflecting our commitment to innovation and excellence in workforce solutions. This framework allows us to better serve the public sector, streamlining the procurement process and providing our clients with confidence in the quality, security and reliability of our services. We’re excited to collaborate with more public sector organisations to help them achieve their goals and deliver exceptional outcomes.”
Priest goes on to say, “Public sector organisations can benefit significantly from the inclusion of pre-employment screening on the G-Cloud 14 framework. The streamlined procurement process makes it faster and more efficient for public sector bodies to access our workforce solutions. Our compliance with stringent security and regulatory standards highlights our credibility and reliability as a trusted supplier. Additionally, our adaptable solutions are designed to support evolving workforce needs, seamlessly aligning with modern practices such as remote and hybrid working models”.
New technology will transform doctor-patient consultations saving clinicians time and reducing the burden of administration
Dictate.IT, part of Clanwilliam, a global healthcare technology and services group, has added an AI-powered clinical assistant to its market leading clinical documentation software products.
The assistant listens to and transcribes the doctor-patient conversations in real-time, automatically creating consultation summaries, clinical notes and clinical documentation from the conversation transcript. The assistant saves time for healthcare professionals, reducing the burden of administration and allowing clinicians to spend more time on patient care.
The assistant is fully integrated with existing Dictate.IT clinical documentation products, so clinicians can start using it straight away, avoiding the need for busy hospitals to implement new software.
Dictate.IT is committed to the highest levels of security and privacy, meaning that no healthcare data is passed to a third party service for processing, and all healthcare data is stored within Dictate.IT’s own secure environment in the UK.
At every stage, the healthcare professional remains in control. They can check notes and clinical documentation against the transcript, and use a ‘smart recommendations’ option to identify points at which more information or investigation is required.
Stuart van Rooyen, managing director of Clanwilliam (UK), said: “We’re delighted to be bringing an innovative, AI-powered clinical assistant to our UK hospital customers.
“We’ve been focused on giving doctors back valuable time through speech-to-text functionality for many years. Leveraging AI to create accurate doctor-patient conversation transcripts, consultation summaries, clinical notes and clinical documentation is a natural evolution of our expertise.
“We look forward to working together with our customers on how to best leverage our innovations to solve their challenges and free up their valuable time.”
The launch of the new technology comes at a time when the NHS is under huge pressure, and there is an intense need for tools to improve productivity, while addressing staff burnout, and delivering a more personalised service for patients.
In England, new health and social care secretary Wes Streeting has made a “move from analogue to digital” one of his three pillars for healthcare reform, and digital solutions are expected to feature heavily in the ten-year plan for the NHS expected next spring.
NHS staff have called for “long overdue” investments in health technology, and in a recent survey by the Health Foundation, 81% of respondents were in favour of its use for administrative tasks.
Dictate.IT’s AI-powered clinical assistant aligns with these developments. It acts as an intelligent virtual note taker, dramatically improving consultation efficiency by automating the documentation of patient interactions, creating appropriate and clinically relevant summaries, and integrating with the EPR or clinical system.
The assistant can be used with every doctor-patient consultation. Capturing and structuring data from these consultations is important for compliance, quality measures, care continuity, and in many cases reimbursement.
But traditionally it is also a multi-step process that takes time away from seeing patients. While many providers are exploring the use speech-to-text and natural language processing to streamline this process, generative AI helps take the workflow one step further.
By harnessing Dictate.IT’s investment in cutting edge, medically specific generative AI, recorded consultations can be turned to clinical notes and documentation that is ready to use within the clinical workflow.
The technology is available right now for NHS trusts and private hospitals.
Leaders from across the health tech sector predict a year of accelerating digital transformation in the NHS; one that will increasingly be driven by AI. From the development of decision support and robotic surgery to a renewed focus on cybersecurity and data interoperability, Highland Marketing’s clients explore the trends that will shape the future of healthcare this year and beyond.
James Norman is an experienced NHS CIO who now works as EMEA health and life science director for Pure Storage. Speaking as a member of the Highland Marketing advisory board, he said:
“AI decision support is about to become mainstream, and in 2025 we will start to see it embedded in all aspects of healthcare provision.
“Robotic surgery supported by AI will become available through more remote satellite locations, including retail health clinics. While digital GPs for minor ailments will start to supplement current GP services, to reduce demand on services and streamline patient pathways to appropriate care.
“AI will also support the spread of telehealth or remote monitoring using a wide range of tools, including implantable devices, wearables, nanobots, and intelligent everyday systems from toilets to mirrors and surveillance apps, all of which have been maturing over the last few years but are being adopted into everyday life through consumer services.
“In the longer term, all this will have implications for clinical training. The availability of AI decision support will reduce some of the learning requirements for junior doctors. But it will also create new requirements, such as being able to understand and safely use LLMS and AI-driven diagnostic algorithms.
“It will also have implications for suppliers. AI puts huge demands on power supplies and physical space, just as sustainable IT is becoming more and more important to deliver on net zero commitments.
“Smaller, more energy efficient, more powerful capabilities will be required, and we’re already seeing movement in this direction, with partnerships to reduce the energy consumption of chips or create powerful, energy efficient storage arrays.”
Andrew Edge, data and AI lead at leading data transformation consultancy, Simpson Associates, said:
“The notion of AI and relevance for data management will become much more widely adopted within the health sector in 2025, and consequently the phenomenal data and analytical capabilities it will bring.
“Up until now the focus has been driving value from AI by automating back-office tasks and activities, such as extraction of clinical information, which in turn frees up time for care of the patient.
“The NHS has already acknowledged that AI can help deliver better patient outcomes and support its staff. In 2025, its focus must be on ensuring quality and governance, as well as putting the data and AI tools in place to deliver on this opportunity. This enables AI to be utilised beyond task automation and deliver against the key strategic NHS goals including achieving “more with less.”
“The question of interoperability will also continue to be a big challenge as we further develop a general population health approach. The Sudlow Review emphasised that we need to get better at using health data in a multi-agency approach. The good news here is technology enhancements will help achieve this.”
Assad Tabet, senior vice president healthcare and life sciences UKI and Europe, Mastek:
“The government may be developing a 10 Year Health Plan to stabilise and reform the NHS, but in technology I expect to see a continuation of trends that we have already seen.
AI: We are moving into an era in which AI will no longer be a standalone term or solution, but something that is embedded into all new operations and our everyday lives. We have already seen this with the latest versions of Apple iOS and Android devices, which have AI assistants for content creation, summaries and research. This will become the norm in health, as in other areas.
Cyber security: I see more AI services and technologies being used within cyber security services to detect breaches and nullify threats where it can. Healthcare organisations will need to prioritise cyber security services to protect patient data amid increasing digitisation.
Digital mental health: Virtual assistants,digital twins and chatbots will increase access to digital mental health services by making curated and clinically validated information available online for practitioners and patients. More personalised and joined-up services will be tailored to individual needs.
Data interoperability and sharing: Platforms like the Federated Data Platform and secure data environments will be leveraged to create new population health insights and improve overall health outcomes. These platforms will also enable better communication and collaboration between healthcare providers.
Digital prevention: Increased promotionof screening, vaccinations and other preventative services will feature significantly in 2025. We will see national team members working with integrated care systems to identify suitable digital tools and/or therapeutics to implement and support patient cohorts with preventative measures.
“A competitive marketplace where innovators can thrive, and where innovation can flourish for the NHS. That’s the message coming through strongly from the government as 2024 ends and 2025 begins. It’s to be lauded.
“To work effectively it needs to be applied consistently, to ensure that the NHS can harness the full ecosystem of suppliers, and that it isn’t locked in with vendors that have always been used but where development doesn’t reflect the urgency of demand and evolving healthcare service models.
“The diagnostics environment is one part of healthcare fortunate to be relatively digitally mature, with a market for key systems that has benefitted from longevity. Modernising diagnostic imaging also sits at the centre of national commitments.
“The opportunity in 2025 is to work with those suppliers that demonstrate their technological offers are still relevant, and to modernise procurement functions such that new entrants can overcome any remaining complacencies from historic vendors who fail to prove responsiveness to pressures faced at the diagnostic coalface.”
Chris Scarisbrick, deputy managing director for UK and Ireland, for Sectra, said:
“The world is a more dangerous place as we head into 2025 – carrying with it sustained risks for high value targets, healthcare included. Reports that cyber-attacks have “plateaued” have been accompanied by digital health headlines showing the human cost associated with service disruption, delayed care, and even “harm” when systems are compromised.
“The technology sector serving healthcare should therefore be prepared for increasing requirements around cyber credentials in the coming year; and arguably should take a more proactive approach.
“Cloud based provision – which is continuing to grow at pace in diagnostic imaging – can help, where the cyber expertise of large cloud providers can be leveraged in ways not possible on-premises.
“But we must also adopt best practice at every point possible as suppliers – whether that’s compliance with Cyber Essentials Plus, IS027001, or CSA STAR accreditations. Such compliance needs to transcend throughout supply chains – to ensure every link is as strong as it needs to be.
“2024 has been a year of substantial digital progress in healthcare diagnostics. We have a collective duty – across the health service, and as suppliers, to safeguard that progress against cyber adversaries.”
“As 2025 reveals national plans to restore the NHS, leveraging large scale digital transformation will undoubtedly have centre prominence. But opportunities for more rapid and immediate transformation can also be realised through momentum already building within the NHS.
“As 2024 drew to an end, more than 150 NHS organisations had made media services free for patients. Some had done this hospital-wide, others on individual wards. The reason: not only to entertain and distract patients with home comforts during their recovery, but to inform, educate and stimulate.
“The appetite to scale this further still will continue to grow in 2025. More and more trusts will refresh ageing patient entertainment systems with modern technology that can educate patients about their specific care and alleviate pressures on busy wards by allowing patients to request services without needing to ask additional questions of nursing teams.
“Hospitals have streamed content for younger patients – putting them at ease as they are moved from the ward for important imaging. They have created calmer elderly care wards. And they have even enhanced independence for severely injured and disabled patients, who have been able to operate screens through eye movement.
“It’s just a small selection of how media technology is enhancing patient experience – and I predict many more will embrace this equitably and without cost to patients in the year ahead.”
Jackie Henderson, chief client officer, and Stuart Lawrie, director, client technical services, Excelicare:
“There are several areas of technology advancement that electronic patient record vendors will be considering for inclusion in their product roadmap and development cycles. One of these areas is the wider use of “Smart on FHIR” [a healthcare standard that enables applications to access clinical information through a data store].
“This will drastically improve the sharing of patients’ healthcare data between disparate systems and NHS apps, which will enable a more comprehensive view of the patient, with the aim of improving care and reducing mistakes in case.
“The idea that Generative AI will be transformational for healthcare apps is gaining widespread attention, but there are legitimate concerns about its safe use that should be considered, too. If these can be resolved, these innovations should help to promote safe and innovative health tech solutions for wider patient populations.
“There will also be emphasis on including the patient more in their own healthcare through the use of patient technologies and asynchronous healthcare interactions, with the aim of enabling the healthcare provider to monitor patients, in order to track health and enable earlier intervention to correct problems.”
“As we move into 2025, I believe we’ll see automation and interoperability take centre stage in the NHS. Automation will be key to easing the workload on healthcare staff, allowing them to spend more time focusing on patient care rather than administrative tasks. Simple but effective changes, like streamlining meal ordering or routing service requests, can make a real difference to day-to-day operations.
“Interoperability is another area where we’ll see significant progress. The ability for systems to work seamlessly together will be vital for real-time data sharing, reducing duplication, and improving collaboration across teams. These developments won’t just enhance efficiency but will ultimately improve outcomes for patients. It’s an exciting time for healthcare technology, and I’m optimistic about how these advancements will help tackle some of the sector’s biggest challenges.”
“Accelerated maturity in generative AI, large language models, and emerging technologies that can help automate labour intensive tasks, could all help to address NHS challenges heading into 2025.
“Discussion at Digital Health Rewired 2024 surprised some delegates, who learned of a 2024 ranking of the world’s top smart hospitals. It positioned its first NHS trust at number 72. Set against a drive to advance beyond the “foothills of digital transformation”, as described by Lord Darzi, smart health, applied well could now make a meaningful difference to big policy commitments such as productivity gains, but also to daily pressures.
“There is an appetite, and an urgency, to do things differently. Generative AI, for example, has the potential to redefine how clinical teams interact with technology and transform the patient experience. Natural language processing and conversational interfaces will make electronic patient record systems more intuitive, reducing cognitive burden and the risk of burnout.
“Imagine a clinician speaking naturally to an AI assistant to generate detailed summaries, write handover notes, draft prescriptions, or retrieve critical patient history – all in seconds. As smart technologies mature, integrating them into clinical settings and clinical technology platforms, can release substantial time, but can also harness vast amounts of clinical data to support and enhance every decision for patient care.”
Kelly Woodcock, head of marketing UKI Nordics, healthcare systems and technologies, Baxter, said:
“Challenges facing the NHS have been clearly identified in 2024. How we fix those problems is a question 2025 must better resolve, and technology has a significant part to play.
“Increased adoption of new and innovative technology, and better utilisation of existing systems, has the potential to support clinical decision making, reduce administrative burdens for nurses, enhance efficiencies, and address capacity.
“But that must be accompanied by effective workflow and patient flow. Digitisation of inefficient workflows will only digitise chaos. Creating more harmonious environments means driving connectivity of devices and IT, ensuring insights flow into clinical systems, and asking more than how this can be achieved – but why.”
“Health tech companies should be able to “start-up and scale-up” in supporting the NHS with innovative technology: a pledge direct from health and social care secretary Wes Streeting at an ABHI parliamentary reception in November.
“As 2025 dawns, the latter part of his statement – scale – is particularly important; both for companies providing the tech, and for the NHS itself. Policy momentum has placed significant emphasis on wider adoption. NHS England wants to address both the discoverability and deployability of technologies.
“Lord Darzi called out the need to address sub-scale uptake of applications that improve quality and efficiency. And the newly published innovation ecosystem review led by Professor Roland Sinker calls out the need to spread “proven products”, with a failure to do so risking unwarranted variation and a perception that companies investing will struggle to grow.
“With urgency to embrace technology equitably, the NHS can little afford the time and effort required to reinvent ad infinitum. The bar must be set high in choosing what to scale. But once innovations are proven in the field with evidence in clinical practice and academic rigour, then funding and mechanisms must be in place to scale at pace and everywhere, so all patients can benefit. 2025 must be the year to make this happen.”
“Connecting all devices and data across the healthcare estate has become an even more urgent requirement, given renewed national objectives for the NHS. Investing in underlying infrastructure will be one enabler, but interoperability across every device must also come back into scrutiny in the year ahead.
“Connected devices must harness telemetry for busy healthcare professionals – from staff on general wards, to nurses in ICU, to surgeons in operating theatres. All need to be presented with data in efficient and effective ways, to help them enhance patient outcomes and respond to demands ranging from patient safety, to productivity, to waiting lists.
“And, as value-based procurement comes into focus during 2025, consideration must be given to the value of technology in supporting modern workflows, including the ability for staff to monitor and act on data remotely. When technology works, great things can start to happen.”
“In 2025, transformation will remain the cornerstone of progress for the NHS. Almost all transformation initiatives now have a digital component, but digital must serve as a supporting element to clinical and operational change, not exist as a standalone effort.
“Embedding digital tools into these broader transformations is essential to achieving meaningful impact. Financial pressures will persist and while it’s too early, post-election, to anticipate major investments in digital, the guiding principle of moving from analogue to digital will endure.
“With over 90% of NHS providers covered by electronic patient records, the focus will shift from go-lives to stabilisation and optimisation. Yet significant analogue systems remain, underscoring the importance of ‘thinking digital’ to enable true transformation.
“Cloud migration will accelerate, but cybersecurity must remain a priority. Recent cyber-attacks and IT outages show there’s still much to learn, and prevention must be prioritised through adequate investment.
“System-wide collaboration will advance as we prioritise shared EPRs and connected records. These tools not only improve interoperability but ensure data is available wherever it’s needed to keep people healthier and out of hospital. The anticipated Data (Use and Access) Bill will help make data sharing safer and more effective, a vital step for system-wide working in 2025.”
Latency, packet loss and poor bandwidth utilisation often disrupt network performance. With network infrastructure refreshes occurring on average every 5 years, the answer is usually to buy more bandwidth and to kick out the old to bring in the new by investing in the latest technology. However, this doesn’t always quite mitigate these issues, and as a result fails to deliver on its promise.
Much can be done with WAN acceleration in 2025, and it only keeps getting better in speed and capacity – which is surely the WAN you want. That’s because it deploys artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data parallelisation to enable even SD-WANs, which have been a hot topic over the last few years, to perform much better than they would otherwise be able to do, unaccelerated without a WAN Acceleration overlay. Yes, AI is being used more often these days to improve network performance, but neither of them can so far achieve the results of WAN Acceleration.
Over the course of 2024, AI-enabled predictive network automation has nevertheless become a trend. It helps IT to access networking platform features that advance telemetry and visibility. Artificial intelligence is also increasingly a part of cloud automation and, as part of zero trust cyber-security, since cyber-attacks are using AI to become increasingly sophisticated and harder to detect.
Increasingly at the edge
Other trends that have occurred throughout the year include an increase in edge computing migration because no entity, user or device should be automatically trusted, as the basis for preventing a cyber-attack. With quantum computing being increasingly discussed, and the need for ever-more stringent and tighter data protection, SD-WAN solutions may soon incorporate quantum-resistant encryption algorithms. They can help organisations to protect their data against emerging threats. Ultimately, there is a need to advance digital business, and there has been a push for converging security and to provide digital experience assurance.
In 2025, how can WAN Acceleration fit into these trends? Well, first of all it is often also referred to as Data Acceleration because, by using AI, machine learning and data parallelisation the speed at which data is transmitted and received increases – and in a way that permits the accelerated flight of encrypted data, – which can obfuscate cyber-criminals. Still, it can fit into these trends because the likes of technologies such as PORTrockIT can significantly improve WAN and data performance and optimise bandwidth utilisation without the need to invest in higher bandwidths, or in a completely new network infrastructure.
Convergence of security and networking
The New Year, apart from some opportunistic AI-based cyber-attacks, will continue to see the convergence of security and networking into unified frameworks in the form of SASE (Secure Access Service Edge). SD-WANs will continue to increase in adoption, leaving room for organisations to add a WAN Acceleration overlay to boost their performance. The key motivation for their adoption will be to lower costs and to improve integration.
“There will also be an increasing use of multi-cloud networking software, and I expect industry cloud platforms to become increasingly popular – as will edge computing, which many industry commentators say will gain prominence in 2025 as a means for organisations to process data closer to its source,” says David Trossell, CEO and CTO of Bridgeworks, the WAN Acceleration company. He adds that with increasing data volumes, there will need to be higher computing capacity, better connectivity, and to transfer it over large distances, while using AI and machine learning to mitigate the frictional effects of latency and packet loss.
Pushing the limits
Josh Howarth, wrote in May 2024 ‘5 Top Networking Trends (2024 & 2025)’ for Exploding Topics, and said: “The performance of network infrastructure is constantly being pushed to the limit as businesses look for new ways to boost capacity and speed. Businesses want high-performing networks that are agile and scalable. But today’s IT decision-makers face a combination of uncertainty and new possibilities associated with emerging technology.”
One challenge that won’t change is the need to situated data centres and disaster recovery sites at distance from each other, outside of their own circles of disruption. Firstly, when a natural disaster strikes, organisations need to have another means of maintaining service continuity. The same applies to a situation caused by a cyber-security attack. It’s vital to ensure that not all data centres and disaster recovery sites are hit simultaneously.
WAN Acceleration can do this, while enabling organisations to achieve data transfer speeds for backups and restores of up to 200 times faster than with any other WAN enhancement technology. “Once upon a time organisations would have looked to WAN Optimisation to accelerate data transfers, but it’s a technology that often doesn’t deliver on its promise – particularly as it can’t handle large volumes of encrypted data.”
Networking market 2025
As for the networking market’s outlook for 2025, Mauricio Sanchez, who leads Dell’Oro Group’s research into the intersection of enterprise networking and security, comments in his October 2024 report, ‘The State of Enterprise Network Market in 2024: The Great Reset Before a 2025 Rebound’:
“Despite the contraction in 2024, the outlook for 2025 is brighter. The fundamental demand for digital transformation, cloud migration and hybrid work solutions remains intact. As enterprises complete the digestion of their current investments and inventories normalize, spending is expected to rebound.”
“The rise in adoption of AI-driven workloads, 5G, Wi-Fi 7, and advanced security frameworks like SASE will drive growth across the network infrastructure landscape. Furthermore, as inflation and interest rates decrease, enterprises will benefit from improved capital availability, providing further tailwinds for market growth.”
Data: Opportunity to accelerate and secure
With this growth, particularly with regard to SD-WANs, digital transformation, and everything cloud, there is an opportunity to accelerate and secure data flows with WAN Acceleration. Organisations will increasingly look to AI and machine learning for this purpose. So, in 2025, they could do well to get the WAN they want by testing different WAN networking technologies alongside each other.
The focus is often on what large companies will do in a new year. However, much innovation comes from smaller companies. Thankfully, Forbes reveals that the EY Entrepreneur Ecosystem Barometer finds that “73% of entrepreneurs [are] optimistic about AI, and 82% believe the market will be stronger in 2025.” More importantly, AI, machine learning and data parallelisation can give you the WAN that you want and make it as fast as lightning: saving time, money and brand reputations with secure data transfers. Happy New Year!
By Graham Jarvis,
Freelance Business and Technology Journalist
Lead Journalist – Business and Technology, Trudy Darwin Communications
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