The government’s announcement that NHS England will be abolished has sent shock waves across the digital health community.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said on 13 March 2025 that the management of the NHS would be brought back into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), reversing the top-down reorganisation of the NHS by Andrew Lansley, former Conservative health secretary, in 2012.

Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust (SASH) provides emergency and non-emergency services to the residents of east Surrey, north-east West Sussex, and South Croydon, including the major towns of Crawley, Horsham, Reigate, and Redhill.

East Surrey Hospital is a large acute hospital for east Surrey and north-east West Sussex, providing an Emergency Department and acute services for the whole catchment area of the SASH NHS Trust, including Gatwick Airport – a total of more than half a million people.

In March we attended the Digital Health Rewired conference, one of the largest healthcare IT events in the UK calendar. With the recent announcement about the abolition of NHS England, we were uncertain as to what the mood would be amongst delegates, however, we were surprised to note a hopeful, though cautious optimism.

Andy Kinnear, former NHS CIO and now Independent Consultant, reflects on what lessons can be learned from the forthcoming subsuming of NHS England functions into Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

Experienced leader and technology visionary to accelerate innovation at Imprivata to help customers solve pressing access management, security, and workflow challenges

Matthew Little, Chief Nurse Information Officer (CNIO) and Associate Chief Nurse at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, gives his view on the latest advances that the NHS has made and why it’s important to fully use the technology that has been invested in, while also innovating and pushing boundaries to make healthcare better.

Back from another hectic and vibrant Digital Health Rewired event, and there is a lot to reflect on. The major themes we have seen in recent years of the digitisation of healthcare and, how best to educate and empower the frontline/shopfloor with technology continue. There were more nurses, midwives and allied health professionals (AHPs) in attendance, and many more conversations about involving the frontline in digitisation projects, and it feels as though we are moving in the right direction, albeit it is still somewhat patchy progress.