Bringing health and adult social care services into the digital age will cost the UK Government an estimated £21bn ($27.8bn) over the next five years, according to a report from the Health Foundation think tank.
This investment would cover projects such as introducing electronic health records, boosting cyber defences and improving Wi-Fi across care settings.
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Of the total amount, around £14.75bn would be needed in England alone.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to move from ‘an analogue to a digital NHS’, with Health Secretary Wes Streeting naming this shift as one of several key reforms planned for the health service.
Despite this, the government has yet to release its own cost breakdown for the proposed digital transformation.
The Health Foundation has described the switch to digital in parts of the NHS as ‘glacially slow’, warning that current budgets are unlikely to cover the full expense.
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By GlobalDataTo support the government’s digital targets, the foundation commissioned research by PA Consulting.
The report found that capital investment of around £8bn would be required to digitise the NHS, with £5bn of this allocated to England.
These funds would go towards upgrading software, purchasing equipment and building IT systems.
An additional £3bn in one-off revenue spending would also be necessary to manage the rollout and support early implementation.
This one-time revenue cost includes £2.25bn for England, supporting workforce training, initial planning, and migration to new digital platforms.
In addition, maintaining the new systems would cost an estimated £2bn a year for five years, with around 75% of this to be spent in England.
Previous governments have made attempts to digitise the NHS, but these have been abandoned due to increasing costs.
A report commissioned last year by Streeting concluded that the health service was in ‘critical condition’, with waiting lists at unprecedented lengths.
