Transformation Directorate

Extraordinary circumstances demand extraordinary people - a birthday thank you to our health and care family.

NHSX staff marked our first anniversary this week amid circumstances nobody could have predicted when we launched a year ago.

And at the end of this week we will give thanks to the NHS and all its people for all they have done in the past, extraordinary year.

I’m proud to lead a new team that has shown dedication, passion and skill over the past year and particularly over the past four months, as we continue to build the organisation in parallel to supporting the pandemic response.  Covid-19 has brought into stark relief the importance of our mission to help the NHS and social care make best use of digital technology.  

I’m also acutely aware this work is never achieved in isolation. COVID is demanding even more of the sector and those who support it 24/7. I’m immensely grateful for the commitment of key partners like NHS Digital, NHS BSA, NHS England and NHS Improvement alongside a host of talented people working as suppliers, innovators and technologists.  

The pandemic has accelerated - to a remarkable degree - the need for the frontline to adopt and adapt digital technologies.  In the past four months we have seen the NHS move wholesale to remote working, using digital solutions.

NHSX has been part of making that happen, from providing super-simple guidance on Information Governance that gave clinicians the confidence they needed to work remotely, to sourcing over 40,000 laptops at the peak of the crisis for clinicians working from home, to negotiating with telecoms companies to improve connectivity for care homes and data packages for frontline NHS workers, to giving the NHS the data and insight it needed to manage the crisis most effectively.  

We have been proud to support all the staff of the NHS and social care, from the doctors and nurses who are saving lives every day to the admin staff, tech teams and analysts who help keep the show on the road.

This Sunday we will be clapping for you. Thank you for doing all that you do, and for continuing to do so in such uncertain times.