The Time Dividend: What Automation in Healthcare Should Really Deliver

In this episode, Liz Jones and Darren Kilroy are joined by Gareth Jones, Business Development Director at North London Partners Shared Services, recorded live at the Connected Health and Care Summit. Welcome to The Connection: Where Tech Meets Humanity in Healthcare podcast, brought to you by RLDatix. Gareth shares his unexpected path from selling records for the Virgin Group in Australia, to setting up a corporate shared services collaborative across eight NHS trusts. He talks about automation, AI, how organisations should support roles that change, and why the NHS needs to do a better job of telling its own story to the next generation. 👉 At RLDatix, we understand that health and care is a complex landscape where technology must work hand-in-hand with human expertise. In our podcast, we explore how our commitment to safety and operational efficiency can improve the daily experiences of health and care professionals whilst keeping patient safety at the core of everything we do. 🎉 To find out more, visit rldatix.com 🏥

In this episode, recorded live at the Connected Health and Care Summit, hosts Liz Jones (Chief Customer Officer) and Darren Kilroy (Medical Director) sit down with Gareth Jones, Business Development Director at North London Partners Shared Services, an ICS-wide shared services collaborative spanning eight NHS trusts.

Welcome to The Connection: Where Tech Meets Humanity in Healthcare podcast, brought to you by RLDatix.

Gareth's route into the NHS was anything but conventional. Growing up in Australia, he spent nearly a decade with the Virgin Group selling records and CDs before stumbling into a temporary staffing role at his local hospital after a voluntary redundancy — and never leaving. That background in retail, customer experience, and large-scale operations has shaped his approach to workforce management, automation, and collaborative working ever since.

What You'll Learn:

How Gareth's career in music retail and a chance visit to a job fair led him into NHS workforce management
Why technology has freed his teams to spend more time with people, not less
How North London Partners Shared Services built a corporate shared services model across eight trusts and why timing mattered
What the NHS can learn from the decline of the mining industry about how to support people when roles change
How AI and chatbots are beginning to change HR and workforce functions in the NHS
Why the NHS missed a recruitment opportunity after the pandemic and what needs to change
Gareth's advice to anyone starting out: don't over-plan your career, just walk through interesting doors

Gareth Jones is Business Development Director at North London Partners Shared Services, a shared services collaborative within the North Central London ICS. He is also a published author and contributing writer to music publications including Shindig magazine.

👉 At RLDatix, we understand that health and care is a complex landscape where technology must work hand-in-hand with human expertise. In our podcast, we explore how our commitment to safety and operational efficiency can improve the daily experiences of health and care professionals whilst keeping patient safety at the core of everything we do. 🎉

To find out more, visit rldatix.com 🏥

Episode Resources

Gareth Jones on LinkedIn
North London Partners Shared Services Website
Liz Jones on Linkedin
Darren Kilroy on LinkedIn
RLDatix Website