> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://med-techinsights.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # NHS 10 Year Plan commits to early MedTech adoption and roll-out - URL: https://med-techinsights.com/nhs-10-year-plan-commits-to-early-medtech-adoption-and-roll-out/ - Published: 2025-07-03T12:13:23.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-22T08:41:51.000Z - Description: Chris Whitehouse, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at Whitehouse Communications, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the Urology Trade Association, and governor of the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, reports on the implications for MedTech of the new NHS - Author: Oliver Johnson - Tags: Insights, Policy & Regulation ###### [***Chris Whitehouse***](https://med-techinsights.com/tag/chris-whitehouse/)***, a political consultant and expert on medical technology policy and regulation at*** [***Whitehouse Communications***](http://www.whitehousecomms.com/?ref=med-techinsights.com)***, an advisor to MedTech suppliers, chair of the*** [***Urology Trade Association,***](https://urologytradeassociation.com/?ref=med-techinsights.com) ***and governor of the*** [***Anscombe Bioethics Centre***](https://www.bioethics.org.uk/?ref=med-techinsights.com)***, reports on the implications for MedTech of the new NHS 10 Year Plan.*** --- Now published, the Government’s [NHS 10 Year Plan](https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6866387fe6557c544c74db7a/fit-for-the-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england.pdf?ref=med-techinsights.com) for England, commits to the rapid adoption and roll-out of innovative and effective MedTech, including wearables, digital and AI, across the NHS; and the turning of the mantra of “digital first” into practical reality. A key section of the Plan undertakes that: “New products to improve productivity will be procured once nationally and then made available through an internal marketplace. This open innovation approach will create a far better experience for patients and professionals while unlocking the extraordinary potential of our HealthTech and MedTech sectors”. There will be easier access to NHS facilities and staff for the generation of evidence to support the effectiveness of MedTech, committing that that there will be: “accelerated commercial support, enable quicker and simpler access to NHS infrastructure for evidence generation, and intensive adoption and pathway transformation support”. In a damning indictment of previous approaches to NHS procurement, that should reverberate around the offices of the default NHS procurement organisation in England, NHS Supply Chain, the document includes the startling admission that: “The NHS has mixed up its priorities when it comes to buying things. It has bought goods and services as if everything were a basic, interchangeable item, where only price matters. This means the NHS has focused too much on lowest cost, rather than best value and outcomes.” The plan undertakes to turn this around arguing that: “In other industries, investing in technology has led to remarkable new ways of doing business, boosting productivity and delivering benefits for customers and companies alike. If the NHS is to achieve the same, we need a fundamentally different approach to procurement that is applied consistently across the health service” and it goes on to commit that “Early next year, we will introduce a standard value based procurement guidance for devices and digital products”. A MedTech Regulatory Review is also signposted saying: “This year, we will review regulations, and in 2026 we will publish a new regulatory framework for medical devices including AI. This will create faster, risk proportionate and more predictable routes to market. We will collaborate with AI developers, regulators and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through the AI Opportunities Action Plan”. On funding to support the adoption of the most effective MedTech innovations, the plan admits that: “Unlike for medicines, there is no national pathway to prioritise and nationally fund the highest impact HealthTech. As a result, we see significant unwarranted variation in uptake, weakening the perceived attractiveness of the UK market”. So, the Plan goes on to commit that “From April 2026, building on and adapting our experience with medicines, we will begin expanding NICE’s technology appraisal process, which includes mandated funding by the NHS, to cover some devices, diagnostics and digital products. This will focus on those that meet the NHS’ most urgent needs and support financial sustainability (e.g. digital behavioural therapy for adolescents to support those on long Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service waiting lists)”. That enhanced role for NICE will see an expansion ofNICE’s technology appraisal process to cover devices, diagnostics and digital products. NICE will also be given a new role to identify which outdated technologies and therapies can be removed from the NHS to free up resources for investment in more effective ones. There are changes, too, in the way safety is monitored with the Patient Safety Commissioner function being “transferred to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)” because “the MHRA has direct responsibility to monitor the safety of medicines and medical devices”. The justification for the change is that “this will offer improved clarity about where responsibility for the voice of patients lies when it comes to the safety of medicines and medical devices and build on MHRA’s current work to capture adverse events more effectively, such as through use of technology”. The Plan also commits the MHRA to a more pro-innovation approach to regulation, while maintaining safety, and seeks to “ensure that the UK is one of the best places in the world to develop and launch new products”. To make sure patients in England are able to access medicines faster, by April 2026 MHRA and NICE will launch a new joint process, supported by information sharing and joint scientific advice, that will boost the speed of decisions and cut administrative burdens for the system and industry. The challenge for the sector will be to engage to ensure that evidential hurdles are not set unrealistically high, and that real world data and evidence is taken fully into account. Many of the changes in the Plan have been widely trailed in advance, but there’s no doubt that the Plan as a whole accepts and advances the role of MedTech in delivering improvements in patient experience and outcomes, whilst potentially achieving substantial savings for the NHS. *The Author used AI in preparing this article, comments upon or questions about which can be addressed to* [*chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com*](mailto:chris.whitehouse@whitehousecomms.com).