Healthcare services are under pressure. Rising costs, economic uncertainty, and ongoing reforms mean the system must do more with less. Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are being reshaped with the expectation of halving running costs, cutting bureaucracy, and streamlining operations — all while improving patient outcomes.
The ambition is bold, but the path forward is clear: digital solutions will be integral to turning this vision into tangible, real-world impact.
Reece Donovan is CEO at Mayden and is passionate about technology, software, people and data, and how together, these drive positive change and experiences. Tom Scott, our CRO, thrives on building strong partnerships and is passionate about how innovative technology can boost productivity and improve clinical outcomes. As a company, we are on a mission to help services unlock these benefits with our portfolio of best-of-breed software solutions, designed to transform health and care.
From budgets to burnout: understanding pressures
ICBs are facing significant deficits. “There’s currently a lot of uncertainty,” Reece says, reflecting on conversations with senior NHS leaders at the Healthcare Partnership Network (HPN) in June. “People aren’t sure what funding will be available to support services now or in the future.”
“When services want to procure new tools or applications, they’re unsure both if the money exists and who to approach under the ongoing reforms, so it can feel like progress has stalled,” he adds.
“Exactly,” Tom agrees. “Services are facing a wave of pressure from convergence consolidation, and there’s a lot of uncertainty about where to go to access funding. The government has set out the Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, which provides direction, but we haven’t yet seen the policies and funding to support it”, he says. “Right now, what we have is more of a 10-year vision than a fully actionable plan”, Reece concurs.
We know healthcare services are stretched. Rising waitlists, performance targets, and public demand for quicker access are all adding strain. “When we spoke to senior leaders at HPN,” Reece continues, “the biggest pressure of all was administrative.” Common consensus was that 40–50% of clinician time is spent on paperwork.
“There’s a real need for tools that can drive efficiency and reduce documentation and admin burden,” Reece says. “But when you couple that with funding uncertainties, even though solutions exist and there’s a genuine desire to adopt them, it doesn’t always mean services are able to implement them.”
Funding isn’t the only challenge services are facing, Reece acknowledges. Staff availability, stability, and burnout compound the pressures, creating a difficult environment to effect change.
“Although services are keen for reform and willing to shift left, it still begs the question: how?” Tom continues. “How do services streamline care while managing increasing waitlists and the demands on my service? How do I redesign delivery alongside staff shortages and burnout, while enhancing outcomes under all the pressures we face today?”
From data to delivery: understanding the ‘how’
Services are sitting on an abundance of data. But the real challenge is understanding the story it tells. “Services can extract enormous value from the information they already hold, to help them prioritise,” Reece explains.
Our company was founded on a simple but powerful insight: healthcare services were collecting vast amounts of information, but rarely using it in meaningful ways. By providing cloud-based tools to support clinicians in managing patient care, we set out to unlock the true value of that data.
“What we’ve always excelled at is turning data into actionable insights that align with the real challenges services face,” Reece says. “And through these capabilities, we aim to deliver a truly transformative experience.”
“What I mean by that is creating software that people actually enjoy using, with tools that genuinely solve their needs,” he explains. “Usability has always been critical, and our users tell us it positively contributes to staff wellbeing and retention. But beyond that, we focus our investment on the challenges clinicians are most concerned about. For example, when services tell us they’re struggling with administrative burden, we design software that frees up capacity and enables them to deliver higher quality care.”
Tom adds: “For me, it’s also about balance. It’s about addressing the challenges the NHS and local authorities face today, and bridging the gap while redesigning for the future. We’ve been fortunate to work with some services recently on exciting pathway redesign projects, helping them to understand their ‘how’.”
“By working in partnership”, Tom continues, “we’ve been able to support them in addressing immediate pressures, such as where to allocate resources for the biggest population health impact, whilst building long-term solutions. And data is the key to unlocking that.”
From vision to value: prioritising interoperability
We believe that safe, effective, high-quality care depends on interoperability. “Great care starts with great conversations. Not just between people, but between systems too. We’re a company that works well with other suppliers,” Reece explains.
Interoperability isn’t a ‘nice to have’. It’s the difference between fragmented care and care that truly works. “We don’t claim to be the best at everything,” Reece adds. “We focus on what we do well, and we’re happy to partner with others who excel in their areas. The goal is to take the problem of integration away from services altogether.”
For suppliers, the responsibility is clear: build a connected healthcare ecosystem where information flows seamlessly, clinicians have what they need, and patients don’t have to tell their story twice. “Too often, technology creates friction,” Tom says. “It becomes the blocker to adoption and the barrier to benefits. That’s why we consciously design out friction, both between systems and within processes, through our ethos of openness and collaboration.”
“Our focus as a business is on investing in digital transformation. By partnering with us, services can free up capacity and release cash back into the system, driving real value”, Reece concludes.
We believe that the secret to truly exceptional software is partnerships and collaboration.
Let’s transform health and care, together.
Media Contact:
Louisa Clark
Marketing & PR
hi@mayden.co.uk
01249 701100
