The UK government’s newly launched 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out an ambitious vision to reshape the NHS around prevention, digital innovation, and more care delivered outside of traditional hospital settings.
Titled Fit for the Future, the plan promises a digitally-enabled, patient-centric health service designed to meet the demands of a growing, ageing population.
Ambitious in scope and necessity, the plan seeks to tackle deep-rooted challenges in healthcare inequalities, service fragmentation, waiting times, and outdated infrastructure.
While the vision is bold, industry leaders from across the health and care technology sectors have weighed in, offering insight, support, and clear-eyed assessments of the hurdles ahead.
Diagnostics at the core of reform
Jane Rendall, UK and Ireland Managing Director for Sectra, a medical IT and cybersecurity solutions company, highlighted the centrality of diagnostics to the plan’s ambitions.
“Digital, community shift, prevention, waiting lists, and narrowing healthcare inequalities: headline items in the 10-year plan. Each policy requires diagnostic services, where an expansion of already widespread digitally-enabled reform could make a significant difference to realising NHS ambitions,” she said.
Rendall emphasised that money alone will not tackle disparities in access to tests and scans, advocating for diagnosticians to work flexibly across geographies.
“Expansion of community diagnostic centres provides people with choice on where to have their scan. But diagnosticians – radiologists and pathologists – must be able to report from anywhere to level the playing field on access to expertise, enable timely diagnosis and treatment, and support prevention.”
Rendall also called for more disruptive thinking: “New thinking – such as virtual diagnostics – could better serve deprived and vulnerable communities, and deliver on many goals in the plan. This must be supported by mechanisms to bring in the latest technologies at pace and safely, including AI.”
From ambition to action
Dr Mark Ratnarajah, UK Managing Director for C2-Ai, a health tech provider and practising NHS paediatrician, stressed the need for immediate, measurable outcomes alongside long-term vision.
“The NHS 10 Year Plan must deliver urgent, measurable impact in the short term – not just long-term ambition. In support, the £10bn digital budget must go beyond national apps and records to support evidence-driven, anticipatory, and localised health and care models,” he stated.
Dr Ratnarajah urged for smarter use of existing technology in managing elective recovery and preventative care: “A rapid focus on elective recovery means more than clearing backlogs, but identifying at‑risk patients early to avoid deterioration and costly escalation.”
Dr Ratnarajah also pointed to maternity care as a priority for proactive, data-driven interventions, adding: “Data‑driven safety tools can spot early signals of system‑level and individualised risk before harm occurs. Safe, equitable care for mothers and babies is essential.”
Adding to this call for pragmatism, David Challinor, Managing Director at Chrystal Medical, an advanced clinical solutions provider, noted that while the plan’s vision is welcome, delivery will depend on real-world execution:
“The Plan sets out a bold vision. And while we all await further details on how it will be delivered, making the ambition a reality will rely on robust investment in community infrastructure and careful integration of new models into frontline services.
“As the NHS works to reduce waiting lists and shift from reactive to preventative care, delivery approaches that are flexible, efficient and outcomes-driven will be critical. Delivery models such as managed services can help expand clinical capacity and streamline operations without adding permanent overheads.
“Success will depend on turning this ambitious vision into measurable improvements for patients now, while laying sustainable foundations for future innovation and resilience."
A digital NHS must be built on strong foundations
Chris Goldie, CEO of Vertex in Healthcare, a technology for diagnostic services and clinical workflow management specialist, welcomed the plan’s digital ambitions but warned against papering over legacy challenges.
“Put simply, we can’t expect clinical teams to perform miracles with outdated technology. A procurement shake‑up is essential to allow new entrants to provide innovation where it has been lacking, and to design IT systems specifically for the modern needs of teams under pressure,” he said.
Echoing this was Jeremy Nettle, Chair of the Highland Marketing advisory board, who recognised echoes of past NHS strategies: “There are some similarities between the 10 Year Health Plan and the strategies drawn up during the Blair administration… However, this plan will have to be delivered in very different circumstances, with much tighter finances and higher demand.”
Nettle noted the risk of public expectations outpacing delivery timelines, particularly in areas such as AI‑powered workflows and modernisation of the NHS App: “The public may also be expecting more rapid improvements than current roadmaps envisage.”
Steve Wightman, Managing Director at Access Health and Integrated Care, a sotware solutions provider, welcomed the strategic ambition but called for clearer delivery models to match:
“The vision and ambition are what we’ve needed for a long time. The outstanding question of ‘how’ still remains.
“However, it’s good to see AI and AVT being championed - we’ve seen firsthand how the use of ethical AI and voice technology can supercharge staff productivity in primary and secondary care from the get-go.
“But for the move from bricks to clicks to be game-changing, we need more of an ‘all-in’ strategy, which advocates nimble digital ecosystems, rather than individual tech solutions or monolithic systems, that empower multi-disciplinary teams to communicate and work seamlessly together.
“By doing this, the NHS can achieve economies of scale and greater value at lower costs, all while working towards the ‘seismic shift’ to neighbourhood-based care.”
Primary Care as the front door
With a key focus on moving care out of hospitals and into communities, Sharon Hanley, Director of Primary Care at X‑on Health, an intelligent care navigation specialist, underscored the importance of getting primary care transformation right.
“Primary care has always been the front door to the NHS, but as the focus shifts from hospital to community‑based care, this role is more vital than ever,” she said.
Hanley also called for an evolution in primary care delivery, leveraging AI and technology to enhance access and reduce pressure on GPs. “As the population grows and ages, it is crucial that the ambitions set out in the 10 Year Plan move beyond aspiration and translate into real, measurable improvements for patients ‑ enabled through innovation, integration, and local collaboration.”
Adding a further perspective, Alison Gardiner, CEO and Founder of Sleepstation, a UK-based mental health service, highlighted the importance of scaling services based on proven outcomes, particularly in mental health:
“The Plan rightly emphasises the need to scale services that work, based on real-world impact, not just theoretical promise. And it's encouraging to see mental health receiving the attention it needs and deserves. Too often, patients wait months for support because services are tied to in-person, clinic-based models.
“Yet digital-hybrid approaches already exist that offer faster access, engage harder-to-reach groups, and deliver strong outcomes, particularly for conditions like insomnia and depression.
“Expanding the NHS App makes sense, but we must avoid reinventing the wheel when proven services are already in place and actively reducing waiting times. That’s why the Health Store App Marketplace and NICE’s evolving role matter to scale what works (in the real-world) and remove barriers to getting proven solutions into patients’ hands.
“We support this direction of travel, but the real test will lie in the detail and delivery.”
A learning health system powered by data
Several experts pointed to data as the key to successful reform.
Darren Ransley, Managing Director UK & Ireland at Better, a health tech company, said: “At the heart of this transformation must be the Single Patient Record (SPR) ‑ not just as a technical ambition, but as the grounds of truly joined‑up care across the NHS.”
Similarly, Rich Pugmire, CEO of Answer Digital, a software company, added: “Understanding the role and importance of data is at the core, and this element must be managed correctly. Turning ambition into accountable action is by no means a small task, and delivery of the plan is paramount.”
Dr Harry Thirkettle of Aire Logic, a software company, argued for radically new approaches to digital infrastructure: “These ambitions need to be backed by the kind of challenger thinking that reshaped industries like banking ‑ where brands like Monzo started from user needs, not inherited systems.”
Harnessing AI
AI’s potential as a transformative force was a recurring theme. Alex Johnston, HIS Country Leader for UK&I at Solventum, stated: “We are at a watershed moment. The convergence of policy ambition, public need, and technological maturity offers a rare opportunity to reshape the healthcare landscape for patients and staff alike.”
Daniel Park, CEO of In Touch Now, pointed to practical applications: “Intelligent use of AI, as highlighted in the plan with AI scribes and digital telephony, will amplify human capabilities, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on complex, empathetic care.”
Communication, equity, and culture
Dr Rachael Grimaldi, Co‑Founder and CEO of CardMedic, a digital health company, flagged the risk of overlooking basic patient-provider communication barriers: “While increased investment is welcome, real transformation demands sustained commitment for innovative projects and clear accountability for funds, ensuring they don't vanish into 'black holes'.”
Kath Dean, President of Cloud21, a digital healthcare and consulting services company, stressed the importance of people, processes, and culture alongside technology. “We must ensure that digital workflows are matured around the needs of clinicians, operational teams and their patients. We must connect and maximise the solutions already in place to enable more joined‑up care, support out‑of‑hospital models, and promote prevention.”
The road ahead
Mark Hutchinson, SVP Healthcare Strategy at Altera Digital Health UK & EMEA, a software company, concluded: “It’s an important day for the NHS, the 10 Year Plan is finalised so it means all concerned can focus on implementing the changes and, crucially, driving real‑world impact for patients and health professionals.”
The message from industry is clear: while the 10‑Year NHS Plan lays out a necessary vision for the future, it will succeed or fail on the detail, pace, and sincerity of its delivery.
The technology, talent, and intent exist. Now the challenge is to turn policy into practice.
Featured companies
- Companies:
- Sectra Ltd
- C2-Ai
- Better Ltd
- CardMedic
- Vertex in Healthcare