Neil Mesher

Safeguarding the future of the NHS is no easy task. With greater financial pressures and an ageing population, assessing how the health service is equipped to navigate the challenges it faces continues to be a subject of intense scrutiny. Digital technology holds the key to overcoming many of these hurdles, and has the potential to revolutionise the way the NHS operates, equipping the service for an increasingly digital future. From the way patients engage with services at the point of use, to improving the efficiency and co-ordination of care, to empowering people to manage their own health and wellbeing, technology can enable the NHS to usher in a new era of personalised care and, ultimately, help us to live longer and healthier lives.

As we reach the milestone 70th anniversary of the NHS, it’s an opportunity to celebrate the fact that, thanks to our health system, we can all expect to live longer, healthier lives. In 70 years, the NHS has transformed the wellbeing of the nation: delivering medical advances and revolutionary treatments to improve public health, and is considered by many to be the envy of the world. But, with greater financial pressures and an ageing and increasing population, the NHS model of old continues to be tested, with many questioning the long-term stability of the tax-payer funded service.