Ravinder Kaur Sahota has been appointed Chief Digital and Information Officer (CDIO) for The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust, taking responsibility for the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) division, including medical engineering, across both organisations.

With 17 years of experience in the health service, Ms Sahota has overseen several large-scale digital transformation projects. Her appointment comes as the two trusts seek to bring their technology operations closer together and improve the way digital systems support patients and NHS staff.

Her first 12 months will focus on upgrading digital infrastructure, migrating systems to cloud platforms, strengthening cyber security and developing core clinical platforms. The trusts also plan to establish an AI Academy and expand their use of advanced data analytics, giving clinical and managerial staff the knowledge to work confidently with the technology being introduced.

The move formalises a shared approach to digital services across the two organisations. Previously, each trust maintained its own systems and managed separate technology commissioning processes. Bringing these operations together is expected to reduce duplicated systems and procurement, helping to cut costs for taxpayers while making services more efficient.

Every technology investment will be expected to demonstrate a clear clinical benefit. The trusts want improvements that can make a tangible difference to patient care, whether through shorter waiting times or by reducing the administrative burden on staff. Projects without a clearly defined purpose or measurable benefit will not be taken forward.

Ms Sahota brings experience of introducing technology designed to tackle one of the NHS's persistent pressures: the paperwork that takes clinicians away from patients. Her work includes the rollout of Ambient Voice Technology (AVT), software that listens to consultations and drafts clinical notes, reducing the time doctors spend documenting appointments.

What began as a local trial has since developed into a major regional procurement across the Midlands. The impact has already been seen in Dudley, where published coverage of the programme reported that the backlog of patient letters at one clinic fell from six months to just 14 days after the software was introduced.

Her work has also earned her a place on a top 100 list of influential figures in UK healthcare, recognising her contribution to data use, information governance and the modernisation of NHS infrastructure.

Her own route into healthcare technology was far from conventional. Ms Sahota joined the NHS 17 years ago after working in the finance sector overseas. She initially accepted a temporary NHS position when a member of her family became ill, but the role developed into a long-term career. In 2011, she moved into digital projects and attended night school to learn coding, determined to understand the systems she was responsible for delivering.

Her motivation for improving NHS technology is deeply personal. She has spoken about wanting the health service to be ready for her ageing relatives and future generations. She is equally conscious of the pressure poorly designed systems can place on medical staff, arguing that technology should support clinicians rather than add to their workload.

Diane Wake, Group Chief Executive of the two trusts, has endorsed the appointment, expressing the board's confidence in Ms Sahota's ability to drive innovation and put data at the centre of decisions affecting the local population.