Transformation Directorate

2020 - a year in health technology

Anna Steere

In 2020 technology made a real difference in the NHS and social care, helping to keep the system going during the pandemic and transform health and care for the better. Click on the infographic below to see it full screen or scroll down to read about some our achievements last year.

NHSX A year in healthtech 2020

Here are some of the achievements that we are most proud of commissioning. Many of these have been delivered in close partnership with NHS England and Improvement and NHS Digital as well as other key partners such as the NHS Business Services Authority:

  • Two million people are now using the NHS App developed by NHS Digital. 70,000 people have registered for organ donation through the NHS App
  • Five digital playbooks were launched supporting remote care and digital outpatient pathways: ophthalmology, dermatology, respiratory, cardiology and MSK
  • 11,000 iPads for care homes being distributed to improve care for residents
  • 22 million uses of NHS login to access health and care services - a single and simple way to access services and prove your identity
  • 1.2 million NHS staff have access to MS 365 IT deal – saving the NHS £300M. NHS Digital have now transitioned over 2 million accounts.
  • 11,000+ care providers benefit from MS Teams and NHSMail Rollout
  • Simplified information governance - a new one stop shop portal to give staff the confidence they need to work differently and to manage patient information
  • 160 global digital exemplar blueprints - step-by-step good practice guides helping trusts deliver tech more quickly and cost effectively
  • Production of GP Lloyd George medical record envelopes - to cease for new babies or entrants to the NHS in England from 31 December 2020
  • AI: how to get it right and a buyer's guide to AI in health and care - we published resources to help put policy into practice for safe data-driven innovation
  • 42 winners for round 1 of the AI in health and care award and over 300 applications received for round 2
  • 1,100 joined the Digital Nurse Network supporting nursing teams to increase their awareness of primary care digital services

COVID-19 response 

Specifically in support of the COVID-19 response, here are some of our 2020 achievements with our delivery partners, particularly NHS Digital, include: 

  • 55m Summary Care Records enriched with better medical information needed by staff to treat those in their care
  • 1.5m digital isolation notes issued as proof of coronavirus-related absence to employers
  • 13,000 members of the COVID-19 data and analytics workspace using the data store to think differently about how we work with data across the NHS
  • 2.2m NHS 111 online COVID-19 assessments completed by a new 24/7 service, enabling more than 13 million SMS messages to be sent to support those shielding
  • £16.6m SMS messaging funding for general practice from March to August 2020, to ensure practices can communicate safely with patients
  • 99% GP practices now enabled to offer video consultations and 77% of trusts, enabling health professionals to provide care and advice to patients at home
  • 40,000 laptops provided to staff to support remote working during COVID-19
  • 7.2m YouTube views of the health at home campaign and over 1,000 downloads of the guidance
  • 42,000 images in the COVID-19 chest imaging database. 20 trusts have contributed so far, making it one of the largest data collection exercises for medical imaging in the UK
  • 18 cutting-edge companies selected by the TechForce19 challenge to rapidly develop digital solutions in support of the vulnerable and isolated
  • 500,000 NHS staff benefit from telecoms deal - NHSX agreed a series of easily accessible offers to help NHS staff, care homes and care providers upgrade existing connectivity during COVID-19
  • Project Oasis - working with J-Hub to collect anonymised data that supports our understanding of covid-19
  • NHS COVID-19 data store continues to provide decision makers with a clear picture of what’s happening on the ground and where resources are needed
  • Control of patient information (COPI) notices - by activating legislation fast (COPI notices) we gave healthcare organisations and local authorities the confidence to share the data needed to respond to COVID-19
  • COVID-19 research - we’ve enabled the openSAFELY collaborative which has helped identify risk factors for death
  • COVID-19 research - we’ve enabled the recovery trial which identified a low cost steroid that is helping ventilated patients recover faster