Digital Health Coffee Time Briefing ☕

Your morning summary of digital health news, information and events to know about if you want to be “in the know”.

👇 News

🚪 NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough integrated care board (ICB) is seeking a partner to help it deliver a “digital front door” allowing patients to manage their health and care. According to a tender notice published 22 May, the ICB is seeking a delivery partner for a five-year contract worth up to £10 million to develop a digital platform that gives patients access to health and care services and helps local providers streamline workflows and coordinate care, with an option to extend to 2034.

🤖 Netherlands-based speech recognition company G2 Speech has launched Aida, an AI-powered digital assistant designed to support medical professionals with clinical reporting. Aida is integrated within G2’s SpeechCursor platform and uses large language models and neural networks to turn spoken input into structured, accurate clinical documentation. The tool aims to reduce the administrative burden on clinicians and improve the quality of medical records. 

😌 Digital mental health company Calm has launched its Calm Health platform in the UK and Canada, marking the company’s first move into international markets. Calm Health provides mental health support through employer and health plan partnerships and is already in use by more than 17 million people in the US. The platform combines screening and personalisation with integration into existing care and benefits systems to encourage early engagement and support access to appropriate care.

🩻 Medical IT company Vertex in Healthcare is asking diagnostic imaging professionals across the NHS to provide their input on what the future of radiology information systems (RIS) should look like. The ‘Reinventing the RIS for the NHS’ campaign aims to reduce the growing administrative burden on imaging teams and ensure that RIS evolves to meet the demands of modern radiology services.

🕊️ A free-to-use digital end-of-life planning platform has been rolled out in Lancashire and South Cumbria. MyWishes empowers residents to make plans for their future health and social care, and supports them to communicate these with those important to them. It facilitates will-writing and documentation of users’ wishes for their possessions and digital accounts when they pass away, and can also be used to document and share advance care decisions and end-of-life choices.

❓ Did you know?

Seventy-one percent of healthcare leaders in the US believe that integrating AI into existing healthcare businesses is a more effective strategy than building standalone AI healthtech companies, according to Venrock’s 2025 Healthcare Prognosis survey.

The survey, conducted between March and  April 2025, captured the views of 278 respondents on investment, leadership, policy and technology trends shaping the US healthcare sector. It found that 71% of leaders expect AI to reduce hospital administrative staff, while 44% believe the biggest benefit will be improved profitability.

📖 What we’re reading

Two workforce reports, published by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR)on 5 June 2025, warn that cancer care in the UK is at breaking point due to chronic staff shortages.

The reports are based on data from all 60 UK cancer centres and 205 NHS radiology departments in the UK, with both surveys achieving a 100% response rate.

Every UK radiology leader reported delays to diagnostic scans in 2024 due to workforce shortages, while nine in 10 cancer centres reported delays starting treatment.

Seven in 10 leaders said these shortages were putting patient safety at risk. Demand for cancer imaging continues to rise, but the clinical radiology workforce grew just 4.7% in 2024. The RCR projects that the shortfall of radiologists will grow from 29% to 39% by 2029 if no action is taken.

The reports also highlight a fall in the average age of retiring consultants, with more than two-fifths of radiologist leavers now under 45. RCR warned this had long-term implications for training and service delivery, especially as over £325 million was spent on temporary staffing in 2024 alone.

Katharine Halliday, president of the RCR, said: “Patients are being failed by a chronic lack of radiologists and oncologists.

“Despite the best efforts of NHS staff, there aren’t enough doctors to ensure prompt, safe and effective care – and the outlook is bleak.

“We are doing all we can to boost productivity, but there’s a limit to how far we can go. The reality is we simply don’t have enough staff.”

She added: “Any credible plan to cut waiting lists relies on having the headcount to meet the demand we face today, let alone tomorrow.

“The longer we delay action, the worse it gets. The government must train up more radiologists and oncologists to defuse this ticking time bomb for cancer diagnosis and treatment.”

🚨 Upcoming events

15 July, London – The King’s Fund Digital Health and Care Conference 2025