Department of Health's IT budget has almost doubled in last five years
DHSC has experienced year-on-year increases in its IT budget, number of IT staff employed, and total IT staff salary over the past five years
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has increased its IT staff headcount by nearly 100%, while investing more than £100 million in IT resources to bolster the infrastructure for remote work and accelerate healthcare processes.
That is according to a new research conducted by the Parliament Street think tank, which used a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to obtain official figures.
DHSC, which is supported by 24 agencies and public bodies, is a ministerial department responsible for advising and supporting ministers in guiding the nation's health and social care efforts. Its mission is to help people live more independent and healthy lives for longer.
As of 31st December 2020, the department had 3,030 full-time equivalent employees, working in various locations throughout the country.
Parliament Street research suggests that the DHSC has experienced year-on-year increases in its IT budget, number of IT staff employed, and total IT staff salary over the past five financial years.
The number of IT employees working in the DHSC has risen from 23 in the financial year 2018/19 to 45 in the financial year 2022/23.
A notable increase in the number of IT employees at DHSC was observed after the government eased lockdown restrictions in 2021, with the IT staff count increasing from 25 to 38.
Similarly, the department's total IT budget has almost doubled from £26,215,827 in FY2018/19 to £47,227,000 in FY2022/23.
The IT staff salary at DHSC has experienced a significant increase, according to Parliament Street ' s research, going up from £874,182 in FY2018/19 to £2,627,779 in FY2022/23, a jump of more than 200%.
The news arrives in the wake of recent developments, including the cabinet reshuffle that transferred the responsibility of digital policy away from DHSC, and the merger of NHS Digital with NHS England.
"The strain placed on the healthcare industry over recent years has demanded a significant increase in the adoption of technology to help manage the millions of terabytes of data handled by organisations," Sridhar Iyengar, MD for Zoho Europe, said.
He added that it is commendable to witness DHSC making investments in both technology and staff to fulfil the increasing demands for technology adoption.
"Organisations should maintain a level of high investment in both technology and IT staff to provide the tools to better store and access critical data, tackle administrative tasks efficiently, and oversee the communications process between patients, carers and professionals.
"Investment in staff should also prioritise training and upskilling, teaching them not only why certain technologies have been introduced but the benefits they provide them. Automation technology, for example, can greatly reduce the time taken to perform manual tasks, freeing healthcare staff and IT teams alike to engage in higher level, higher-impact activity, such as engaging with patients and answering important data queries."