When people think about the NHS, they think about trust. For 75 years, it has been one of the most respected institutions in British life — a symbol of care, compassion and public good. But today, that trust is under strain. Rising demand, long waiting lists, exhausted staff and constrained budgets mean that patients are finding it harder to access the care they need, when they need it.
This is not just a crisis of resourcing, but a crisis of confidence. Recent surveys show that public satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to its lowest level on record, with just 21% satisfied. And for frontline clinicians, the pressure is unrelenting: general practice alone sees over 300 million patient consultations each year, with many GPs reporting that demand has become unsustainable.
Yet, amidst these challenges, there are reasons for optimism. Technology, used responsibly and in partnership with clinicians, is beginning to show how it can relieve pressure, restore confidence, and deliver tangible improvements for both patients and staff. After years of fragmented digital systems and pilot fatigue, the foundations are finally in place – interoperable platforms, clinician-led design, and evidence-based AI that supports rather than replaces human judgement.
Technology as a force for social good
The conversation around digital health often focuses on systems and efficiency. But what we are really talking about is social impact. When a working parent is able to book an appointment online and avoid missing a day’s wages, that is social impact. And when a doctor feels confident that digital tools are keeping patients safe while managing demand, that too is social impact.
Technology is not a silver bullet — it cannot train new doctors or rebuild hospitals — but it can free up precious time, reduce administrative burdens, and help clinicians focus on what matters most: patient care.
AI in action: Managing demand safely
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often portrayed as futuristic, but in health care, it is already here — not in the form of robots replacing doctors, but in the form of intelligent tools that assist with safe decision-making and workflow.
One area where AI is making a real difference is in primary care triage. From October 2025, NHS England requires all GP practices to keep their online consultation systems open during core hours. While designed to improve access, many practices worry this will overwhelm staff with late-day requests and increase the risk of missed urgent cases.
AI-enabled platforms are already proving that they can help. Take PATCHS, developed by NHS clinicians and used in hundreds of practices across England. By using natural language processing and machine learning, the system can read and categorise patient requests, flag urgent cases, and route routine requests into safe workflows. Early NHS-backed evaluations suggest such tools can cut waiting times by up to 70%, while also saving GPs hours of paperwork each week.
The key here is not that AI replaces clinical judgement, but that it enhances it — giving doctors and practice staff more confidence, and patients faster, safer access to care. The same principles are now being explored across urgent care and outpatient settings, showing how AI can strengthen – not strain – the clinician-patient relationship.
Co-design with clinicians
For digital tools to succeed in the NHS, they must be co-designed with the people who use them every day. Too many past initiatives have failed because technology was imposed from the outside, without regard for clinical workflow.
The best solutions today are those built hand-in-hand with GPs, nurses, and patients themselves. To use the same example again, PATCHS was created by practicing doctors in Manchester who understand the realities of general practice. Its success stems from that grounding: the AI was trained not just on generic data, but on real NHS patient journeys, and it continues to evolve through clinician feedback.
This principle of co-design should be non-negotiable. If we want technology to deliver social good, it cannot be developed in isolation. It must be rooted in the lived experience of those delivering and receiving care.
Rebuilding trust through transparency
AI in health care raises legitimate questions: How accurate is it? How safe? Who is accountable if it makes a mistake? These are not trivial concerns.
That is why transparency and evidence are critical. Randomised controlled trials, peer-reviewed studies, and ongoing monitoring are essential to build confidence among clinicians and the public. When a system is proven to be safe, when its accuracy is clear, and when its limits are openly acknowledged, then trust can begin to be rebuilt.
Technology companies must embrace this responsibility. The NHS cannot deliver its long-term plan without innovation — but innovation must be backed by evidence, ethics and openness.
A timely moment
We stand at a pivotal moment. On one hand, the NHS faces some of the greatest challenges in its history. On the other, digital tools are more powerful and more available than ever before.
The question is not whether technology should play a role, but how we ensure that role is positive, responsible, and aligned with public benefit. Used well, AI can help GPs see more patients safely, reduce waiting times, and alleviate the strain on overstretched teams. Used poorly, it risks eroding trust further.
The opportunity is to choose the former path — to show how technology can be a force for good in health, just as it has been in countless other areas of society.
Conclusion
The NHS does not need another grand vision statement. What it needs are practical, proven tools that make life better for patients and staff right now. AI-enabled solutions are already delivering exactly that.
The role of technology partners is to step up, not as vendors, but as collaborators — working with clinicians to co-design safe systems, with policymakers to scale responsibly, and with patients to rebuild trust.
If we get this right, technology will not just help the NHS recover – it will help renew its founding promise: care that is universal, trusted, and for the public good.
Ric Thompson
Ric Thompson is Senior Vice President for Health & Care at OneAdvanced, where he drives strategy, product innovation, and growth across one of the UK’s largest health technology organisations. With over 25 years’ experience in healthcare and technology, Ric has been a key leader in NHS digital transformation, from pioneering clinical document management solutions with Docman to developing integrated care platforms and AI-driven innovations aligned with the NHS 10-year plan.
