Could Optimising IT be the Answer to Reducing the Mental and Financial Stress on NHS Services?
The National Health Service (NHS) is facing a perfect storm of financial strain, operational inefficiencies, and increased mental health pressures on its staff. As a system designed to provide universal healthcare, it now finds itself at the heart of a growing crisis where overstretched resources and antiquated IT systems are pushing healthcare professionals to their limits.
However, amidst the challenge lies an opportunity — one that could be addressed by optimising the NHS’s IT infrastructure. By tackling inefficiencies in technology, we can unlock significant financial savings, free up precious time for clinicians, and improve patient care, all while reducing the mental strain on healthcare workers.
This blog explores the findings from a recent 90-day analysis conducted across five NHS Health Trusts, shedding light on how IT optimisation could help reduce operational costs, improve staff wellbeing, and ultimately, deliver better patient care.
The Case for Change: Why NHS IT Infrastructure is a Major Concern
The NHS is built on an IT landscape that is fragmented, outdated, and difficult to manage. Legacy systems and siloed technologies have created a bottleneck, impacting productivity, increasing the risk of downtime, and frustrating clinical staff.
A 2022 British Medical Association (BMA) survey revealed the staggering impact of this inefficiency:
- 13.5 million working hours lost annually for doctors due to outdated IT.
- This lost time is equivalent to the capacity of nearly 8,000 full-time doctors.
- £1 billion in financial impact annually as a result of these inefficiencies.
Further to this, the BMA also reported that 37% of doctors experience higher stress levels due to inefficient IT and data-sharing systems, with more than 25% of doctors losing over four hours a week to slow hardware or unresponsive systems.
For a healthcare system that is already underfunded and overstretched, the ripple effect of these inefficiencies is enormous. Stress and burnout are increasing among clinicians, with anxiety, stress, and depression accounting for 25.6% of all sickness absences in December 2023 alone — equating to over 620,820 full-time equivalent days lost.
Without action, these issues will continue to snowball, placing further strain on healthcare staff and reducing the quality and availability of care for patients.
Our Findings: The Opportunity for Improvement Across 5 NHS Health Trusts
In a recent analysis of IT usage across five NHS Health Trusts over a 90-day period, we identified several key areas where optimising IT could result in substantial improvements in operational efficiency, cost reduction, and staff wellbeing. Here’s a breakdown of our key findings:
1. Financial Waste
- £484,096: Average hardware savings available with smart refresh.
- £128,400: Average savings on unused software licences.
- £51,000 per quarter: Average potential savings on energy consumption, with the added benefit of reducing carbon emissions.
2. Time Wasted
- 820.69 days per month: Average time lost due to device crashes and slow devices.
3. Patient Impact
- Based on the time recovered from IT inefficiencies, NHS clinicians could have seen an additional 60,708 patients in the 90-day period we analysed.
The Human Cost of Poor IT: The Mental Toll on Healthcare Staff
Beyond the financial impact, one of the most pressing issues caused by inefficient IT systems is its effect on NHS staff wellbeing. Doctors and nurses are feeling the brunt of this burden.
According to the BMA’s 2022 report, more than a third of doctors say that unreliable IT increases their stress levels. This mental strain not only reduces productivity but also contributes to burnout, absenteeism, and overall dissatisfaction.
Doctors are facing daily challenges to access patient records, manage workflows, and handle complex processes, all due to outdated and inefficient IT systems. When technology fails, it creates a sense of helplessness, and the cognitive load of constantly troubleshooting IT issues is taking its toll.
This mental health impact cannot be overstated. It directly affects the quality of care that patients receive. When clinicians are exhausted, frustrated, and working through slow or broken systems, patient safety is at risk.
Challenges Facing NHS IT Systems
The NHS is not blind to these challenges, but it faces a unique set of barriers that make digital transformation difficult. A 2024 report by NHS Providers highlighted the key issues slowing down IT modernisation:
- Agility and Business Continuity
The need to adapt to fast-changing healthcare needs has never been more apparent. Outdated systems lack the agility to pivot and meet demand. The result? Delays, downtime, and patient impact. - Operating Efficiencies
NHS Health Trusts spend more than they should on inefficient hardware, legacy software licences, and unnecessary manual interventions to “fix” system failures. This money could be redirected to frontline care if the issues were resolved. - Sustainability
The NHS has pledged to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. By optimising energy consumption, reducing e-waste, and cutting back on unnecessary hardware, the NHS can contribute significantly to its sustainability goals. - Data Security
Cybersecurity in healthcare is critical. Outdated IT systems are more vulnerable to cyberattacks, which could have catastrophic consequences for patient data privacy and NHS operations. Modernising IT reduces this risk. - Skills Shortage
The shortage of skilled IT personnel is delaying the digital transformation process. Simplifying and automating IT operations through better visibility and efficient tools reduces the pressure on existing IT teams.
These challenges are enormous, but they can be addressed with the right strategy, visibility, and support. The NHS must invest in modern IT solutions that are resilient, efficient, and secure.
How Can Optimised IT Help Solve the Problem?
The key to resolving the NHS’s IT crisis lies in visibility. When NHS Health Trusts have a clear, end-to-end view of how their IT estate is performing, they can make informed decisions to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and protect mental health.
With the right visibility tools, NHS Health Trusts can:
- Identify inefficient hardware and software usage.
- Monitor end-user devices to detect performance issues before they disrupt patient care.
- Highlight downtime risks that could affect access to vital health services.
- Identify opportunities for cost savings on licensing, hardware refresh, and energy consumption.
- Provide actionable insights to improve staff productivity and wellbeing.
By addressing these issues, IT teams can focus on driving improvement, rather than “firefighting” constant breakdowns.
How We Can Help: A No-Cost, No-Risk Offer
We understand that NHS Health Trusts are under constant pressure to reduce costs while improving care. To support this effort, we are offering a 30-day IT analysis at no cost to help NHS Health Trusts identify inefficiencies, savings, and wellbeing improvements in their IT infrastructure.
Our approach is simple:
- We deploy our agent-based solution (deployed in thousands of NHS environments) to provide visibility into the entire IT estate.
- Over a 30-day period, we monitor the system to gather actionable insights on cost, performance, and downtime.
- We deliver a comprehensive report, highlighting opportunities for savings, efficiency improvements, and mental health benefits for NHS staff.
This report can provide Health Trust leaders with the data needed to make informed decisions about IT upgrades, while identifying the financial impact of continued inefficiency.
Why Should NHS Leaders Care?
The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of change. With doctors already under extreme pressure, every minute of lost productivity caused by slow IT systems is a minute that could be spent on patient care.
The findings from our 90-day analysis of five NHS Health Trusts reveal the potential for enormous gains in time, cost, and care quality. On average, each Trust could save:
- 820 days per month from reduced IT downtime.
- £484,096 in unnecessary hardware spend.
- £51,000 per quarter in energy savings, supporting the NHS’s net-zero goals.
- £128,400 saved on unused software licences.
Most importantly, these optimisations enable doctors to focus on what they do best — providing care to patients.
In Conclusion: IT Optimisation provides an Answer
The NHS is on the brink of a crisis. Staff stress, financial strain, and system inefficiencies are combining to create a system that struggles to provide the quality of care the British public deserves. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
By optimising IT systems, NHS trusts can reduce financial strain, free up time for clinicians, and most importantly, improve patient outcomes. The opportunity is clear. The only question is, will the NHS take it?
If your Trust is ready to address IT inefficiencies and improve staff wellbeing, reach out to us. Our no-cost, 30-day analysis will provide you with a roadmap for improvement. Let’s help the NHS work smarter, not harder.
Contact us today to find out more.
