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On some shifts, working on the ward feels like swimming against a current. Devices push information in different directions, and staff stitch it together. That effort costs time at the bedside and risks delayed response. The NHS ten-year plan envisions digital flow – and when adoption is done well, the current carries clinicians forward, enabling seamless, safe and human care.1 The plan places digital adoption at the heart of reform, promising a shift from analogue to digital, with investment in AI, wearables, robotics, and an enhanced NHS App as the front door for patients. A single patient record is set to unify data across care. Yet technology alone cannot deliver transformation. What I see as the real bottleneck is adoption – making sure tools are reliable, usable and embedded in daily practice. From my perspective as both a frontline clinician and adoption and workflow manager, the hardest part of transformation is not the technology but aligning it with everyday workflows. Devices may be capable of integration, but too often they are underused because they don’t fit how staff actually work. Training can be rushed, digital fatigue sets in, and what was designed as a solution becomes “just another system”.2 3 Adoption depends on trust and usability. Uptake only grows when staff see connectivity saving steps, improving outcomes and freeing time for care. In practice, adoption falters when technology ignores frontline realities. Tools may add steps instead of removing them, and interoperability gaps trap data in silos. Clinicians are also cautious of accuracy and wary of being monitored rather than supported, and after years of pilots and rollouts, change fatigue is real.4 Each barrier erodes confidence. Implementation is not about switching a product on, but about whether staff can trust, rely on and value it in daily care. When adoption succeeds, it transforms care. I’ve seen this in projects connecting smart beds and vital monitors, not only to electronic records but also to dashboards and alarm management systems. In fall-prevention workflows, this meant staff were alerted if a patient at risk attempted to leave bed, enabling proactive prevention rather than reacting after the fall.5 Vital signs updated automatically across systems, reducing duplication and allowing real-time response.6 The lesson is clear: adoption succeeds when technology is co-designed with staff, saves tangible time, and builds trust through reliability and safety. One of the most powerful accelerators of adoption I’ve seen is true co-design of the digital pathway. When staff are involved early – before procurement or training decisions – their insights shape solutions that work in practice, not just theory. At Baxter, our therapy specialists partner with clinicians to identify barriers to adoption and mitigate them, ensuring digital connectivity delivers maximum value. The NHS plan recognises that delivering on its promise requires more than procuring technology. The challenge is embedding it into the way care is delivered. Connected smart beds and vital sign monitors illustrate the potential: integrated not only with records but also with alert systems, they can transform wards. Connectivity among devices creates safer, more responsive environments by improving safety, reducing duplication and streamlining workflows, thereby driving efficiency.7 But these benefits only appear when adoption is prioritised. That means national standards for interoperability, investment in training, and measuring success by impact at the bedside – not just device counts. Adoption is the bridge between bold strategy and real-world change.8 From wards where devices once worked in isolation and staff carried the burden of stitching information together, I have seen adoption shift the reality: smart beds and monitors updating records in real time, dashboards flagging risks instantly, and clinicians freed to focus on the patient. That is the future the NHS 10 Year Health Plan aspires to – and it is within reach. The NHS doesn’t just need more digital products; it needs adoption, because only then will technology move from fragmented parts to a seamless system of care. The next decade must prioritise digital confidence as much as capability. Procurement teams, policymakers and developers all play a role – but it is clinicians who adopt or abandon tools. Listening to their experience is not optional; it is the key to unlocking digital transformation’s full promise. Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) (2025) Fit for the Future: 10-Year Health Plan for England. London: Department of Health and Social Care. Available at: https://www.gove.uk/goverment/publications/10-year-health-plan-for-england-fit-for-the-future (Accessed: 8 September 2025) ↩︎Alotaibi, N. (2025) ‘Enhancing digital readiness and capability in healthcare’, BMC Health Services Research, 25, 12663. Available at: https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12913-025-12663-3 (Accessed:8 September 2025). ↩︎Reed, J.E. (2016) ‘The problem with Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles’, BMJ Quality & Safety, 25(3), pp. 147–152. Available at: https://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/25/3/147 (Accessed: 8 September 2025) ↩︎Hilty, D. M., Armstrong, C. M., Smout, S. A., Crawford, A., Maheu, M. M., Drude, K. P., Chan, S., Yellowlees, P. M. and Krupinski, E. A. (2022) ‘Findings and guidelines on provider technology, fatigue, and well-being: Scoping review’, Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(5), p. e34451. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35612880/ (Accessed:25 September, 2025) ↩︎Smart Beds Thought Leadership Article (2025) Ad prom: EMA-CS147-250034 URL: Accessed: 17 September 2025) ↩︎Alhmoud, B, Melley, D, Khan, N. Bonicci, T. Patel, R. Banerjee, A. (2022) ‘Evaluating a novel, integrative dashboard for health professionals’ performance in managing deteriorating patients: a quality improvement project.’ BMJ Open Quality, 11, e002033. Available at: https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/11/4/e002033 (Accessed:17 September 2025) ↩︎Gowda V, Schulzrinne H, Miller BJ. The Case for Medical Device Interoperability. JAMA Health Forum. 2022;3(1):e214313. Available at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2788095 (Accessed:25 September, 2025) ↩︎Alhmoud, B, Melley, D, Khan, N. Bonicci, T. Patel, R. Banerjee, A. (2022) ‘Evaluating a novel, integrative dashboard for health professionals’ performance in managing deteriorating patients: a quality improvement project.’ BMJ Open Quality, 11, e002033. Available at: https://bmjopenquality.bmj.com/content/11/4/e002033 (Accessed:17 September 2025) ↩︎ UKI-CS417-250006 v2.0 09/2025 This article first appeared in Spotlight on Heathcare: Designing a healthier future
