Genomic data and transformative technology, including the expansion of the NHS App, are central to the NHS 10-year plan for a Neighbourhood Health Service, the Government has announced.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hailed a health service capable of seizing the ‘enormous opportunities’ in science and technology, genomics, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced robotics at the launch of the NHS 10-year plan at a Neighbourhood Health Centre in Stratford, East London, along with health secretary Wes Streeting, and chancellor Rachel Reeves.
‘This plan backs technology to deliver. Because it can and will save thousands of lives. But it’s not just about saving lives. AI and technology is an opportunity to make services more human,’ he said, adding that while it ‘sounds counterintuitive’ it gives NHS staff ‘more time to care’ and ‘do the things that only human beings can do’.
Genomic testing in routine care and prevention
The ‘Fit for the Future: 10 year health plan for England’, states that genomic testing will be used to create risk scores as part of a new genomics population health service by 2035.
‘We will implement universal newborn genomic testing and population based polygenic risk scoring alongside other emerging diagnostic tools, enabling early identification and intervention for individuals at high risk of developing common diseases,’ it states.
It will launch a new large-scale study to sequence the genomes of 150,000 adults this year and assess how genomics can be used in routine preventive care. And a ‘globally unique’ set of studies will explore personalised obesity prevention, applying genomic and other insights to identify people who are at the highest risk of developing obesity.
The Neighbourhood Health Service will push towards prevention through use of technology and genomic insights, according to the 10-year plan. By 2035 it will have ‘evolved to fully incorporate genomic data, digital tools and technology and a single patient record supplemented by advances in genomic data, will enable personalised predictive care’.
‘Instead of spotting a symptom and joining a long waiting list, neighbourhood care will increasingly happen before a disease happens, enabling a real and transformative shift to prevention,’ it states.
Ways in which the Government plans to make this a reality include training genomics champions in the neighbourhood in conjunction with the NHS Genomic Medicine Service to increase uptake of genomic testing and to adjust neighbourhood skill mixes to reflect genomic data.
Earlier this year, a report from the UK Lung Cancer Coalition underscored the impact of lengthy genomic testing turnaround times and proposed actionable strategies to optimise the delivery of timely, accurate and high-quality genomic testing across the UK to support more effective and prompt treatment decisions.
Five transformative technologies
Genomics is one of five ‘big bets’ outlined in the NHS 10-year plan to accelerate healthcare reform and secure the financial sustainability of the NHS using technology. The others are data, AI, wearables and robotics.
As part of this, the plans include the creation of a new Health Data Research Service, in partnership with the Wellcome Trust and backed by up to £600m of joint investment, through which health data will be used to improve the NHS and benefit patients by speeding up diagnosis.
The use of AI to support clinicians with clinical and administrative tasks will increase substantially, using AI as part of treatment to improve clinical outcomes, automating tasks, building care plans, and recording clinical information, which can save time.
Indeed, the plan points to a London-wide trial, which found ambient voice technology reduced time spent on paperwork by 51.7%, saving six minutes per patient and allowing each doctor to treat 13.4% more patients during a shift.
Applying this across all emergency departments in England, this would create capacity to see 9,259 additional patients per day, the plan said.
What’s more, AI will be used to help translate patient feedback into actions for managers and clinicians to support excellent patient care, which will be judged and rewarded where appropriate.
Embracing robotic technology
Efficiencies will also be pursued through the use of robotics, including via the expansion of ‘surgical robot adoption in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines’ from next year, the 10-year plan said.
While many large teaching hospitals already have robotic technologies in use in specialties such as urology, gynaecology and transparent surgery, the Government hopes to expand this so every patient across the country has access to high-quality care through this minimally invasive precision technology with better outcomes and shorter hospital stays.
The Government has also committed to increase process automation at NHS Trusts, using robotics to automate and scale-up repetitive, rule-based tasks such as data entry, inventory control, referral management and pharmacy dispensing. This will allow healthcare professionals to spend more time on patient-facing tasks, it said.
National registries for robotic surgery data and develop telesurgery networks will also be established from 2029 to help scale successful trials of assistive robotics.
A single patient record
The development of a single patient record accessible by all healthcare professionals with patients’ consent will also be prioritised, giving patients control over their data and facilitating a more coordinated, personalised and predictive care model. Supported by AI summarisation and data entry, this will free up clinicians’ time to ‘get more done, focus more actively on their patient and listen to them more effectively’.
Patients are set to have a ‘doctor in their pocket’ in the form of the NHS App, which will be expanded to allow patients to book appointments, communicate with professionals, receive advice, draft or view their care plan, and self-refer to local tests and services.
By 2028, it states the NHS App will be a ‘full front door to the entire NHS’ as a range of ‘My’ services are added to its functions.
Patients will be able to book directly into tests, where clinically appropriate, through My Specialist, and hold consultations through the app with My Consult. They will also be able to manage long term conditions through My Care, manage their children’s healthcare through My Children and co-ordinate the care of a loved one or relative through My Carer.
My Companion will give patients access to trusted health information, while My Choices, will help patients find their nearest pharmacy or the best rated providers for their required service.
My Health will collate all health data such as blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar measurements into one place, including real-time data from wearables, biometric sensors and smart devices, allowing for proactive monitoring of their health and immediate sharing of this data with their care team.
To this end, the Government also plans to make wearables standard in preventative, chronic and post-acute NHS treatment by 2035 and provide such devices where health need and deprivation are highest.
