Creation of NHSX
On 19 February 2019, the Department of Health and Social Care announced the creation of a new joint government unit with NHS England, tasked with developing digital innovation within the health and care system. Its CEO, Matthew Gould, was accountable to Secretary for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock and the chief executives of NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Role of NHSX
The Department of Health and Social Care created NHSX to support the NHS Long Term Plan pledge to expand digitally-enabled care. The Department of Health and Social Care stated that this new organisation would centralise responsibility for technology, digital and data, which had previously been 'split across multiple agencies, teams and organisations’. It announced that the new unit’s responsibilities would include: national policy for NHS technology, digital and data; communication between ‘NHS systems’ across the sector; and digital training and skills for the workforce.
Later developments
In November 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care – then led by Sajid Javid – announced that NHSX would become part of the NHS Transformation Directorate in NHS England and Improvement.
Department of Health and Social Care.
NHSX: new joint organisation for digital, data and technology [webpage].
gov.uk; 2019.
Department of Health and Social Care.
Major reforms to NHS workforce planning and tech agenda [webpage].
gov.uk; 2021.
NHS X.
NHSX annual report 2020 to 2021.
NHSX; 2021.
NHS England.
NHSX moves on.
NHS England; 2022.