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Raine Pell, Marketing & Comms Director, NHS Shared Business Services |
The Health Foundation’s recent report on the estimated £21bn cost of digitising the NHS in the next five years brings the scale of the challenge into sharp focus. But it also reminds us of the opportunity we have — to make smarter, more joined-up choices about where and how we invest.
At NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS), we believe now is the time for bold, system-wide thinking. Rather than building fragmented solutions in silos, we need shared platforms that can support the whole NHS — helping everyone move forward, together.
In a financially stretched environment, shared services offer a clear path to long-term value. Investing once, nationally, helps avoid duplication, streamlines delivery, and creates digital tools that are scalable, sustainable, and designed around real user needs.
What we need is a digital front door to shared services — a single, intuitive gateway that brings together finance, procurement, HR and more, in one place. This isn’t just about having better tech. It’s about making things easier for the thousands of NHS professionals who rely on these services every day. By cutting down on repetitive tasks and clunky processes, we give people back time to focus on what really matters — from strategic planning to supporting patient care.
We’re already seeing the benefits of this approach in action. Our long-standing partnerships with NHS organisations are delivering real progress — and the launch of our next-generation national finance platform is just one example. But this is only the start.
Our focus now is on creating a consistent, user-friendly experience built on a strong digital and data infrastructure — aligned to a national blueprint for smarter, more connected ways of working. Shared platforms like these come with built-in best practice, helping people across the NHS do the right thing by default, without extra effort.
At NHS SBS, we’re proud to be laying the groundwork for a future where shared services aren’t just efficient, but effortless — giving staff more time, more clarity, and more capacity to drive change.
Yes, the investment is significant. But with the right choices, the return — in time, value, and impact — will be felt across the system.
