NHS Use Cases to Inspire You
Power Automate is already improving workflows across NHS teams by removing repetitive manual effort. For example, in many Trusts, data collection tasks that previously relied on emailing spreadsheets or chasing incomplete forms have been automated by integrating Microsoft Forms with Excel and Microsoft Teams. Form responses are now automatically logged and flagged — no human follow-up required.
Another common use case is audit reminders. Instead of staff missing deadlines due to overloaded inboxes, Power Automate sends dynamic reminders to the right person, at the right time, often escalating if tasks remain incomplete. Handover communication — such as between wards or teams — has also benefited: where paper-based or verbal updates once created risk, structured SharePoint updates now trigger handover notifications, improving traceability and patient safety.
Similarly, clinical and operational leads have used automation to flag risks. For instance, when a data entry suggests that a patient is nearing a 62-day breach threshold, a Power Automate flow can instantly alert the performance lead and log the concern in a central tracker. On the admin side, weekly and monthly reporting has become dramatically more efficient — Power BI reports can be automatically exported and distributed, ensuring executives receive up-to-date intelligence with zero delay or manual effort.
These are just a few of the ways NHS teams are using automation to free up time, reduce error, and bring more consistency to how we work.
“We used Power Automate to eliminate four hours a week of manual tracking in our cancer MDT handovers.” – NHS Transformation Lead
Thinking Like a Process Designer
Before building, ask:
What is the manual process we want to improve?
What is the trigger? (Form submission? New row in Excel?)
What should happen next?
What systems or people are involved?
Where does it often go wrong now?
Draw your process on paper. Map out what you do today. Then design what you want the flow to do instead. Start small — aim to automate one repetitive thing you or your team do weekly.
NHS Considerations: IG, Reliability, Security
Do not include patient identifiers in flows unless explicitly approved by your Trust’s Information Governance (IG) team
Always test flows with dummy data before deploying at scale
Avoid excessive notifications — noisy automation creates fatigue
Maintain an audit trail using logs (e.g. write approvals to SharePoint or Excel)
If a flow fails, make sure:
You’ve enabled error handling
You’ve notified the right team for follow-up
You’ve used environment variables to avoid hard-coded data
Recommended Video
Microsoft Power Automate for Beginners – Official Overview
Watch this video for a guided walk-through of what Power Automate is, how it works, and how to build your first flow.
Prompt:
After watching, ask yourself: What 10-minute NHS task could I eliminate with automation this week?
Summary
Power Automate helps NHS teams focus less on admin and more on impact. But tools alone don’t drive transformation — process thinking does.
By the end of this module, you should:
Understand what Power Automate is and how flows work
Identify use cases in your own NHS setting
Be able to sketch a simple process ready for automation
Understand NHS-specific constraints around data, access, and accountability
“If you can describe the process, you can automate the process.”
Next up: Module 2 – Automating Data Collection & Notifications, where you’ll build your first flow using Microsoft Forms + Outlook + Excel — the perfect NHS starter use case.
