Reducing NHS Admin Burden to Improve Staff Wellbeing

Why NHS staff are losing hours every day to work that shouldn't exist

Most people join the NHS because they want to make a difference. But when their time is consumed by repetitive admin, double-keying, or chasing missing details across multiple systems, the result is frustration, wasted hours, and staff who feel they can’t always do the job they came into the service to do.

Humberside Police recognised the same issue. Their teams wanted to provide the best possible service, but outdated processes made that harder than it needed to be. Leaders were clear: the goal was to give staff the tools and information they needed to succeed, and to feel proud of the service they were delivering.

How Humberside Police gave their teams back hours every week

To protect staff wellbeing and give them back time for meaningful work, Humberside introduced new technology to reduce admin burden and cut out unnecessary chasing.

This is exactly where NHS leaders will recognise the opportunity: research shows NHS staff spend over a quarter of their working week on administrative tasks (Health Foundation, 2023). Across the service, that equates to millions of hours every year lost to paperwork, double entry, and chasing missing data – time that could otherwise be spent on patient care.

Humberside’s approach demonstrates how quickly that can change:

Humberside's results across these three areas are just part of the story. Explore the full collection of policing lessons and what they mean for the NHS.

The impact

These changes didn’t remove the need for people - they freed them to focus on the work that truly matters. Staff no longer had to waste hours searching, double-keying, or chasing information. Instead, everything they needed was in one place, automated processes worked in the background, and updates flowed automatically.

The result wasn’t just efficiency. It was a boost in staff pride and wellbeing. Teams were able to provide the service they wanted to deliver, leaving them more motivated, more resilient, and more focused on meaningful outcomes.

How NHS leaders can reduce admin burden and improve staff wellbeing

For the NHS, the lesson is clear: staff wellbeing is directly tied to how work is designed.

When systems are fragmented and admin-heavy, staff become trapped in low-value work. That not only wastes resources - it chips away at morale and makes it harder for people to deliver care to the standard they aspire to. By redesigning processes with digital tools, NHS leaders can:

Free clinical and operational staff from the burden of manual admin, releasing more time for patient-facing work.
Consolidate information into a single system, so staff always have what they need at their fingertips.
Automate repeat processes such as discharges, referrals, or reporting, cutting turnaround from days to minutes.
Improve retention and resilience by giving staff the satisfaction of focusing on meaningful, impactful work.

Most NHS staff didn’t join to chase data or re-key information. They joined to care, to help, and to save lives. By rethinking how routine demand is managed, leaders can restore time, energy, and confidence to their teams, enabling them to focus on the work that matters most.

DISCOVER OUR NHS SOLUTIONS

Admin is eating your best people's time

When Humberside Police automated their admin, staff got back hours every week. The NHS can do the same.

Why NHS staff are losing hours every day to work that shouldn't exist

How Humberside Police gave their teams back hours every week

Robotic process automation (RPA)

Probation requests

All information in one place

The impact

How NHS leaders can reduce admin burden and improve staff wellbeing

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