HEIW prepares NHS Wales workforce for digital future

Published 4 July 2025

Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) has published its 2025/26 Integrated Medium Term Plan (IMTP). It sets out eight key strategic priorities that support the development of a highly skilled and sustainable NHS workforce.

Strategic Priority 5 focuses on building a digital and technology-ready workforce. It aims to equip NHS Wales staff with the skills to use digital tools, artificial intelligence and data to deliver safe, modern and efficient care.

This work is a vital step towards transforming the delivery of health services across Wales and supporting new, more productive models of care.

As health and care services evolve, technology is playing an ever-increasing role in diagnosis, treatment, and service delivery. From virtual consultations to genomic medicine and the use of AI, staff need new skills to safely and effectively integrate digital tools into daily practice. It’s not about replacing skilled professionals, but about enhancing their skills and empowering them with modern digital tools enabling them to work more efficiently, improving care and patient outcomes.

HEIW’s plan recognises this, setting out practical steps to upskill the workforce across all roles and levels. By embedding digital and data skills into education, training, and leadership development, HEIW is ensuring that NHS Wales staff are equipped to be future leaders. These developments will enable professionals to improve outcomes, reduce variation, and meet growing patient demand through more modern and efficient care models.

Key areas of work in 2025–26 include:

• Development of an artificial intelligence (AI) education framework to embed core digital skills across all professions and support the safe and confident use of AI in patient care.
• Expansion of the Digital Capability Framework to embed core digital skills across all professions in NHS Wales.
• Delivery of the Genomics Workforce Plan, in partnership with Genomics Partnership Wales, to support personalised and precision medicine through targeted education and upskilling. This will be supported by work with Advanced Therapies Wales to develop the skills needed to safely deliver advanced cell and gene therapies in NHS Wales.

A digitally ready workforce will make a real difference across the NHS in Wales. For patients, it means faster access to services, more personalised care, and better health outcomes. For staff, it creates more modern, flexible and rewarding roles, with greater confidence in using new technologies and clearer opportunities for career progression. For NHS Wales as a whole, it supports more efficient and adaptable services, helping to build a resilient workforce that can meet both current pressures and future challenges.

HEIW’s approach ensures that digital skills aren’t seen as optional or specialist, but as essential, embedded elements of every NHS role.

Sian Richards, Executive Director of Digital, Data and Engagement at HEIW, said:

“We are committed to ensuring the NHS Wales workforce is equipped with the right digital and data skills to support high-quality, patient-centred care. Whether it’s adopting new technologies, improving efficiency, or making better use of data, a digitally capable workforce is vital to transforming services and making them fit for the future.”

To deliver this strategic priority, HEIW will continue to work closely with NHS organisations, Digital Health and Care Wales, education providers, and professional bodies. This will ensure consistency and alignment with national standards, tools and digital platforms being introduced across the system.

The strategy also supports wider Welsh Government ambitions to modernise healthcare and improve productivity across NHS Wales.

For more information, please see our Integrated Medium Term Plan (IMTP) or contact heiw@wales.nhs.uk.