Findings from phase one of the Scottish Government’s Future Medical Workforce Project have been published, noting mixed feelings on the future use of AI, a need to focus on the basics, and a desire for greater IT enablement.
More than 200 doctors attending focus groups and over 1,800 doctors sharing their views through a national survey contributed to the report, which asked for insight into how the role of a doctor needs to evolve, what makes a medical career sustainable and fulfilling, how workforce planning can be improved, and what the workforce might look like in 2045.
When looking at how the role of a doctor will need to evolve in future, key takeaways included acceptance from remote and rural NHS boards about the need for some regionalisation, and scepticism around the potential for the shift to community care to actually happen “given previous attempts and a poor track record on delivering on stated intentions”.
The emergence of hospital at home was noted by consultants, whilst clinical academics reportedly highlighted “the key contribution of the clinical research community in understanding the impact of social and political determinants on health alongside leading innovation around predictive analytics, genomics and digital screening tools to support prevention and patient-centred early intervention”.
When exploring service capacity and design, the role of AI and technology was discussed, with “many concerns” raised by respondents about outdated and poor IT infrastructure, with recommendations to “get the basics right first”.
Technology was seen as offering the capacity for doctors to spend more time with patients through remote consultations or help with transcription or referral; whilst the possibility for tech to improve patient access to information was seen as potentially “a positive and a negative” by medical students and resident doctors, who pointed to the benefits from enabling self-supported care but the challenges in fuelling misinformation. “They also voiced concern about AI taking away learning opportunities,” the government adds.
The next question asked respondents about what makes a medical career “sustainable and fulfilling”, with responses suggesting this came from feeling valued and respected by patients and colleagues. Feeling valued extended to being supported with resources including IT and administrative support to enable the effective performance of the role.
“Doctors of all grades described a sense of holding all the responsibility but none of the control,” the government states. “They expressed frustration at being able to see opportunities for change and improvement but without a mechanism to influence change within or across board structures or regions. The description of siloed funding and bureaucracy left many feeling it was almost impossible to achieve change.”
Respondents described feeling as though the clinical voice was not being heard, and top-down decision making driven by targets. Also cited were a lack of organisational respect, lack of effective IT resource, and a reduction in societal respect thought to be influenced by social and mainstream media “and the public perception of doctors as gatekeepers withholding access to services in the context of waiting lists and under-resourced services”.
A feeling of value was “closely tied” to working conditions enabling individuals to perform their roles effectively, the government observed. Administrative burdens and inadequate IT systems were seen as impacting efficiency and detracting from direct patient care, with opportunities for improvement identified as covering access to working computers, and IT systems capable of communicating across organisations and the primary secondary interface.
In concluding the report, the government notes that despite increasing workforce numbers, NHS productivity remains below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting: “There are multiple contributors to this, including the increasing complexity of patients alongside infrastructure and IT issues which hinder efficiency and effective working. Increasing the number of doctors, with no other changes, will not solve our problems, and there will be a need to explore and embrace new innovations and opportunities to ensure best care.”
Phase two of the Future Medical Workforce Project is due to begin in January 2026.
Wider trend: Supporting the NHS workforce of the future
HTN was joined for a webinar exploring the role of the CIO now and in the future by a panel of experts including Ravi Sahota Thandi, interim operational CIO at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Kate Warriner, chief transformation and digital officer at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and #1 in the CIO 100 rankings; and Rhian Bulmer, chief customer officer at Radar Healthcare. Our panel shared their own experiences, discussed the role of the CIO in supporting and developing digital maturity and skills, delivering 10-Year Plan priorities, and what the next 5 – 10 years will look like. Also noted were emerging technologies and opportunities, along with ways of realising digitally-enabled system working.
The DHSC has published an engagement insight report on the 10-Year Plan, outlining the views of members of the public and health and care staff on what success looks like; the three shifts; and a vision for the future of the NHS. More than 270,000 contributions were received through avenues such as face-to-face events, the Change NHS website, partner engagement, and community conversations. When asked what success looks like and what needs to change to achieve it, public priorities were around improving access, improving communication, reducing waiting times for hospital procedures and A&E, and reducing health inequalities. Staff priorities looked at improving day-to-day life for the workforce throughincreasing capacity, and resolving challenges that have impeded past reform such as technology.
Updates from The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre and Alder Hey Children’s have shared how technologies such as AI, Ambient Voice Technology, and robotic process automation are being introduced, supporting with things like predicting length of stay, automating processes like medicines stock control, and monitoring patients for deterioration.
