Facing the future, fueling the NHS The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) 10 year health plan (Fit for the Future) , published in July 2025, sets out a sweeping vision for reform. It promises to shift care from hospitals to communities, from analogue to digital, and from sickness to prevention. The plan also presses for higher quality standards, a resilient workforce, innovation, and financial stability. At BMJ Group, we do not endorse the plan itself. But we do stand shoulder to shoulder with the NHS, supporting its staff and systems as they confront rising demand, long waiting lists, and unrelenting pressures.
Governing AI to safeguard patients Artificial intelligence (AI) is central to the NHS 10 year plan’s vision of a digitally enabled health service. Yet without oversight, AI can expose patients and clinicians to risk. BMJ Group contributes to the safe adoption of AI through peer reviewed research and ethical guidance. In July 2025, BMJ Digital Health & AI published, “Importance of model governance in clinical AI models: case study on the relevance of data drift detection”. Using data from two Dutch hospitals, the study revealed: Reliable model: the AI tool accurately predicted discharge for surgical patients Early risk detection: identified a sudden shift in respiratory rate data at one hospital Anomaly alerts: errors in data entry and unusually long stays were flagged Protecting patients: quick action meant the model could be adjusted before safety or fairness were affected For the NHS, which has set an ambition to become “the most AI-enabled care system in the world,” 50 this study offers a practical framework for deploying AI transparently and safely. Alongside publishing such evidence, BMJ Group convenes its own committee on ethics and artificial intelligence to advise on transparency, oversight, autonomy, and data governance.
Supporting quality improvement The NHS plan calls for safer, more transparent, and continually improving services. BMJ Group supports this through journals, learning resources, and its patient and public partnerships initiatives. 51 One recent published UK project 52 designed and implemented a new management pathway for rib fractures, incorporating BMJ Best Practice and local hospital needs. It ultimately improved the quality of care. Patient controlled pain relief tripled from 13% to 43% The proportion of patients receiving daily pain reviews rose from 6% to 45% Early physiotherapy involvement increased by 15%
BMJ Group support for the NHS bmjgroup.com/facing-the-future-fueling-the-nhs
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