Health Secretary Matt Hancock has unveiled fresh investment for NHS trusts and hospitals to digitally transform their care, as part of its Digital Aspirant programme.
A total of 32 trusts are set to receive new funding from NHSX through the programme, which was designed to help frontline organisations build the necessary digital skills to deliver safe, efficient and modern healthcare.
Seven of these trusts will receive up to £6m funding, over a three-year period, to help deliver their digital ambitions.
The further 25 trusts are set to receive £250,000 in seed funding to develop their digital strategy and business cases.
The Digital Aspirant programme is designed to allow NHS trusts to deliver on a set of core digital capabilities and help reduce the gap in the levels of digitisation seen across the NHS.
Announcing the investment, Mr Hancock said: “First, we need to digitise more of the NHS that is not yet digitised. The starring role that health tech has played in our response was no accident. It comes off the back of the relentless investment in the fundamentals.
“Last year NHSX launched the Digital Aspirant programme, the first wave helped 27 Trusts to boost their digital infrastructure and today I’m delighted to announce that we’re launching our next wave.
“And of course, we’ll be offering further waves of funding in the years ahead. To do this, we’ll focus on all parts of the NHS.”
Matthew Gould, Chief Executive of NHSX, added: “We want to see all parts of the NHS join the digital transformation journey, and this programme is key to supporting those organisations that need more assistance.
“Digitising frontline services is at the heart of NHSX and it is the bedrock upon which we are continuing to build the capability to deliver healthcare that is safe, efficient and fit for today’s needs.”
