Lack of safety compliance means digital transformation risks ‘unprecedented’ patient harm

Lack of compliance with safety standards means the NHS digital transformation agenda risks “unprecedented” patient harm, according to a new warning from researchers.

The government’s 10-year health plan for England risks “propagating patient harm at an unprecedented scale” because of poor compliance with digital safety standards,  according to research published this week.

Shifting the NHS from analogue to digital is a core feature of the government’s 10 Year Health Plan for England, which was published in July 2025.

But the authors of research published in the journal BMJ Innovations have concluded that the NHS lacks the safety architecture needed to support this digital transformation.

The authors, from University College London, have warned that the digital ambitions of the plan risk placing an “unsustainable burden” on failing safety systems in the NHS.

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Source: Nursing Times, 19 August 2026