NHS Digital

These are the 2021 entries from our transformation blog, showing the best of digital and data technology from NHS Digital, NHS England, and NHSX.

2021 Digital Transformation Blog

This is from our transformation blog, showing the best of digital and data technology from NHS Digital, NHS England, and NHSX.

A collage of images demonstrate a range of people looking at the NHS App on their phones.

NHS App messaging - a better way to talk to patients

Harry Etherington, Product Delivery Officer, explains how we’re opening up the use of NHS App messaging to more health and care services, to better satisfy the growing appetite of users to receive their communications digitally.

Harry Etherington

Product Delivery Officer,

Collage image of woman ensuring her device is protected from cyber security attacks.

The importance of good cyber security during a pandemic

Toby Griffiths, Head of Innovation and Delivery for NHS Digital's Data Security Centre, discusses how we have tackled cyber security issues and how we are addressing 'security debt' brought about by the pandemic.

Toby Griffiths

Head of Innovation and Delivery,

Dr Mona Johnson sitting in front of her computer in the GP practice where she works.

Making health tech safe for patients

On World Patient Safety Day, Dr Mona Johnson, Deputy Clinical Director of Patient Safety at NHS Digital and a practicing GP, explains how NHS Digital systems and services keep people safe.

Mona Johnson

Deputy Clinical Director of Patient Safety,

Collage image of people receiving their letters inviting them to get a vaccination.

What's behind a simple letter?

David Ibbotson, Operations Director for the Vaccine Programme at NHS South, Central and West (SCW), a key partner in the NHS-wide vaccination programme, shares what he has learnt about what is required to deliver a ‘simple’ letter inviting someone for a jab.

David Ibbotson

Operations Director for the Vaccine Programme, NHS South, Central and West,

Lead Service Designer Jason Hodge in his garden

Designing out the need for training in a staff-facing app

Jason Hodge, Lead Service Designer for the national booking service, looks at how they had to quickly design an app that COVID-19 vaccination site staff could easily and effectively use to check in the hundreds of people arriving daily to get their jab.

Jason Hodge

Lead Service Designer,

How a virtual work placement opened my eyes

Emma Clark, who is studying to become a junior doctor, describes what she learned during her virtual work placement at NHS Digital and how it has given her a new perspective on the NHS.

Emma Clark

The rise of the clinical informatician

Dr Raj Kumar, our Chief Clinician for Informatics, explains his role at NHS Digital and how it’s made him a better doctor, how clinical informatics has developed in the NHS, and gives advice to those looking to enter the field.

Raj Kumar

Chief Clinician for Informatics,

Victoria Wray, Advanced Analytics Clinical Lead at Susses Partnership Foundation Trust

From the frontline: Seeing the patient in the data

Victoria Wray is the Advanced Analytics Clinical lead at Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust. She discusses how they developed a data visualisation tool that helped clinicians to provide more effective treatments for their patients suffering from mental health issues.

Victoria Wray

Advanced Analytics Clinical Lead, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust,

Man in his thirties looking at his mobile phone

Making digital mental health services better: a nurse's view

People are increasingly turning to digital services to get help for urgent mental health problems. Jane Smith, learning disability nurse and clinical lead for NHS 111 online, describes how the team have improved the service and how her role as a nurse helped make it happen.

Jane Smith

Clinical Lead,

People queueing outside a coronavirus vaccination centre

Behind the scenes at COVID-19 vaccination centres

The national booking service is helping millions of people schedule their life-saving COVID-19 vaccinations. James Higgott, Lead Product Manager, gives an insider’s view on how we created the staff-facing products that make up this service and solved some teething problems along the way.

James Higgott

Lead Product Manager, NHS Digital

Rosie Atkin from the Connected Nottinghamshire is sat on the right of a local resident, showing her how to navigate the NHS App on a phone.

From the frontline: What do the people want?

Connected Nottinghamshire won Health Tech Team of the Year at the HTN Awards 2020. Alexis Farrow, Head of Strategy and Transformation for the programme, explains how her team set out to understand what digital solution would best support the wide spectrum of health and care needs for the people in Nottinghamshire. She found that solution in the NHS App.

Alexis Farrow

Head of Strategy and Transformation at Connected Nottinghamshire,

A nurse is wearing PPE whilst keeping an eye on the monitors displaying updates on patients in a hospital ward.

Overcoming digital barriers in the nursing profession

Sue Clarke, Clinical Lead at NHS Digital, and registered nurse, says good communication is still at the heart of bringing about the digital transformation of the nursing profession.

Sue Clarke

Clinical Lead,