We’re proud to announce that the Digital Innovation Unit at NHS Midlands and Lancashire (NHS ML), together with our partners Digital Space, have jointly won a 2025 Socitm Award for Service Delivery Project or Initiative of the Year.

This prestigious award recognises their cloud-based waiting list validation solution, which is revolutionising how NHS trusts manage elective care backlogs — delivering real-time patient insights, cost savings and improved clinical prioritisation.

Waiting list management – how it works

Faced with mounting waiting lists and patient safety concerns, NHS ML and Digital Space co-designed a secure, automated platform that:

• Uses chatbot technology and human agents to contact patients via SMS, voice calls and secure surveys
• Validates via a clinically designed script, whether patients still require treatment or can be safely discharged
• Escalates complex cases to clinical teams for review
• Achieves over 80% patient contact rate across five NHS trusts 
• Reduces waiting lists by 9–14%, depending on specialty 
• Could be integrated with NHS electronic patient record systems using robotic process automation (RPA) for seamless updates.

This solution not only saves time and resources but also empowers patients with choice and transparency in managing their care.

Partnership success

The success of this initiative stems from a deeply collaborative partnership between NHS ML and Digital Space. Together, we combined NHS expertise with cutting-edge cloud infrastructure (powered by Amazon Web Services) to deliver a scalable, secure and impactful solution.

Priyantha Jayawardane, Deputy Digital Innovation Director at the Digital innovation Unit, said:

“Congratulations to everyone involved in this transformative project. Your work is helping reshape the future of NHS digital first service delivery, and I’m incredibly proud of our team’s dedication, vision and the impact we’re making in the healthcare sector”.

Next steps

Are you an NHS leader, digital innovator, or healthcare strategist? Let’s connect to explore how our award-winning solution can support your goals – contact us.