‘Serious concern’ raised about Digital Health and Care Wales

Serious concern has been raised by the Welsh government about the ability of Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) to deliver major programmes.

DHCW launched as a special health authority in April 2021 to drive digital transformation, including the introduction of an electronic prescription service, the relaunch of the NHS Wales App and plans to create a single national clinical data repository.

It was moved to level three on the government’s intervention framework in March 2025 for performance and outcomes related to delivery of major programmes.

Helen Thomas, chief executive of DHCW, was questioned at the Senedd’s Health and Social Care Committee on 14 May 2025 about delays to the digital transformation of eye care.

Chair of the committee, Peter Fox, Conservative MS for Monmouth, said that a lack of digital infrastructure is “holding back” improvement in eye care services.

In response, Thomas said: “We know that there are many opportunities that digital and data services can support and underpin in terms of the challenges that eye care services face and we believe there is a way to go in terms of ensuring that they have the full digital infrastructure that is needed.”

A programme, led by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, to implement national digital eye care record systems was launched in 2021 with a planned £4.8 million to be invested in a cloud-based system to modernise the referral and monitoring of patients.

David Thomas, director of digital at Cardiff and Vale, told the committee that DHCW hopes to complete a full national rollout of the programme in early 2027.

Speaking at the Senedd on 11 March 2025, Jeremy Miles, cabinet secretary for health, said that he was escalating DHCW “for performance and outcomes related to the delivery of major programmes”.

“I am making this decision because of serious concerns about the organisation’s ability to effectively deliver a number of major programmes.

“It is vital the NHS has confidence in DHCW to deliver our digital transformation, so we will work with them to ensure they are able to make the required improvements.

“Level 3 is the first stage of significant intervention and support in an organisation.

“In this case, we will be engaging additional digital expertise to work alongside the Welsh Government and DHCW to review a set of agreed milestones and progress against the national programmes DHCW is responsible for delivering.

“The expert will also provide an independent assessment of DHCW’s ability to deliver and what further support it may need in the short to medium term,” Miles said.

He added that DHCW’s progress would be closely monitored with progress reviewed at the tripartite meeting in June 2025.

A spokesperson for DHCW told Digital Health News: “The successful delivery of major national digital programmes is key for NHS Wales colleagues, patients and the public.

“We therefore welcome the extra focus and support that will be provided to DHCW as a result of our escalation level moving to enhanced monitoring and look forward to working with Welsh government and other colleagues to make improvements in this important area.”