The Department of Health and Social Care is expected to publish its long-awaited 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring next year, which, in reality, could mean anytime between January and July.

For many, it can’t come quickly enough. It will supersede the previous government’s NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (which is only two years old, having been published a year before the general election) and comes at a time when expectations around digital have never been higher.

Yet confidence across the workforce has rarely been lower.

Results from a survey of NHS staff -- commissioned by Digital Health to inform plans for Digital Health Rewired 2026 -- show that only 1% of respondents (which include chief information officers, chief clinical information officers, analysts and clinicians) think that their organization is fully prepared to deliver the digital priorities set out in the 10 Year Health Plan (10YP).

That figure should stop us in our tracks, for several reasons.

Firstly, many will argue that the digital recommendations in the 10YP aren’t new, innovative or ground-breaking.

In large part, it’s a case of scaling existing initiatives and building on the direction of travel that we all know needs to happen. Plus, some were already in flight from previous governments.

The plan’s recommendations aren’t wholly unrealistic (putting aside views on procurement processes and certain US suppliers), so one would hope that ambition towards delivery could/should be higher.

Secondly, the NHS is undergoing huge changes, from the abolition of NHS England and mass redundancies to the downsizing of Integrated Care Systems and shift to a new operating model that underpins Neighborhood Health teams.

This requires teams to adapt to new ways of working and navigate under new operational structures, which subsequently leaves little room for staff, at system and place level, to focus on scaling digital.

Thirdly, and most importantly, we should be concerned because of the reasons why respondents don’t feel their organization is prepared -- most cited the demand on services, shrinking budgets, burnout and retention as the biggest barriers to digital progress.

It means staff aren’t citing technical complexity or a misalignment on digital plans. They are highlighting the basics: too few staff, insufficient time, and a fragile workforce struggling to keep up with demand.

Ambition vs capacity

It signals a significant gap between national ambition and local capability that can’t be solved by additional guidance, funding rounds or frameworks alone. The crux of it is people.

In this environment, even well-managed and fully funded digital and data programs can stall.

Without addressing these fundamentals, the NHS can’t realistically deliver the change set out for the next decade. The government is effectively expecting to scale digital on quicksand.

Depleted readiness

There is already recognition that digital skills need to improve across the workforce and staff need the “freedom to innovate”.

The 10YP emphasized the importance of building capability, from frontline digital confidence through to specialised informatics and data roles. But these ambitions become harder to realise when teams across the board are understaffed, churn is high, and morale is low.

And the impact isn’t just slow progress. It’s the effect on the people in the organizations -- they become overburdened, leading to more burnout and further attrition.

It’s a pattern seen repeatedly -- passionate early adopters and digital leaders pushed into firefighting because there is no one else to carry the load and/or other projects get prioritized, with budgets reallocated.

A strategy that rebalances this pressure is essential for the sustainability of digitalization, as well, of course, as tackling the wider systemic pressures in the workforce.

Digital baked in

We need to see the government committing to making meaningful change for healthcare professionals if the NHS is to build and retain the skills required for the “digital first service”. And prioritize implementation at pace.

Clearer career pathways and support, professionalisation of digital and data roles, structured progression routes, and investment in specialist training are all overdue. As are clear pathways to create tangible collaborations with commercial partners to accelerate transformation, by utilizing their expertise in areas such as end-to-end data management, AI and cyber security.

The NHS has fantastic informatics teams and advocates, but they are left unsupported, and the pipeline beneath them is inconsistent and often dependent on individual champions.

Too many leave because they feel isolated, under-resourced or unable to influence organizational-wide or system-wide decisions. If we want to keep our most capable professionals, we must create an environment where their expertise is recognised and they are empowered to deliver change.

And this all needs to be done against the backdrop of greater investment in the entire workforce, and reforms to improve the culture across organizations.

Timely warning

The government’s digital ambitions are achievable, but not without teams that can deliver them.

The survey results are a timely warning - the gap between ambition and capacity is widening. A workforce strategy has to focus on recruitment, retention, and morale across the NHS. But it will fall short unless it also recognises the importance of digital empowerment, upskilling, and partnerships, and protects the people driving transformation forward.

Spring 2026 needs to be a turning point. Otherwise, the next decade risks being similar to the last 10 -- constrained not by technology, but by the people and processes that sadly are at breaking point.

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