The Online NHS Trust has announced the appointment of the former CIO and executive director of Genomics England as its chief digital information officer.
Pete Sinden has been appointed following his work on the early stages of development, establishing national partnerships, as well as the governance and technical foundations required for its use of AI and technology in the transformation of routine care, the trust shares.
During his time at Genomics England, Pete reportedly delivered the national genome testing service, enabling genomic diagnosis for over 100,000 patients. His other roles have included chief digital and technology officer at NHS Improvement, and chief digital officer at the Care Quality Commission.
“His work has included building relationships across the NHS technology community and developing joint national capabilities rather than standalone solutions for the trust,” the trust states. “This approach is intended to ensure that NHS Online strengthens the wider NHS, with sustainable services that can be reused at scale.”
Plans for the new “online hospital” were first announced last year, with a go-live date set for 2027 and an aim to deliver up to 8.5 million appointments and assessments in its first three years. The service will aim to connect patients virtually to clinicians based anywhere in England, with triage to be completed through the NHS App, and appointments for scans then offered at local community diagnostic centres.
The first chief executive for the Online NHS Trust was named in August as Dame Caroline Clarke, current regional director for London at NHS England. Recruitment began for key roles in July, seeking “vision, experience and enthusiasm” to help shape the future of healthcare services across leadership positions such as medical director, chief nurse, chief people officer, and chief financial officer. John Browett, former Tesco.com chief executive, was also named as chair, alongside seven non-executive directors.
The trust will initially focus on nine common health conditions, including menopause and prostate problems, aiming to support faster access to specialised care. NHSE published a preliminary market engagement notice in May, seeking to explore the feasibility of establishing end-t0-end diagnostic testing pathways for the virtual hospital service. It shared its intent to use information gathered from the engagement to inform the future commercial and sourcing strategy for diagnostic access, looking at the provider capabilities, digital maturity, and interoperability required to support digital test ordering, appointment booking, and digital notification of results.
Wider trend: Virtual care
As part of its new innovation framework to guide innovation in Ireland, HSE has reflected on its virtual care initiatives exemplifying successful innovation following local adoption with the potential to be scaled nationally. These include a virtual obstructive sleep apnoea identifier pathway, the community and acute respiratory excellence virtual ward, and virtual care delivery through Na hOileáin Sláintiúil (Healthy Islands).
South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has set out its target operating model for virtual care, looking to build on existing success and introduce a unified digital approach to support “more predictable” waits, improved risk identification, and smoother patient flow. According to the trust, the new model will offer more consistency in clinical assessment for patients, expanded alternatives to ED conveyance, improved partnership working through more accurate referrals and shared records, and standardisation across tools, digital integration, and clinical escalation or advice points to support staff.
“Positive early results” are reportedly being seen from a virtual ward pilot for older adults with complex mental health needs in Sussex, with services being delivered via a combination of remote and community-based care. The pilot is part of a wider transformation programme across the region, offering support to older people to remain in their own home or care home rather than being admitted to hospital, mitigating distress and confusion that can accompany admissions, as well as discharge delays waiting for support for ongoing care needs.
