NHS SBS rolls out Oracle platform handling £355 billion in NHS spend

Oracle Fusion Cloud Applications has revealed details surrounding the national finance and procurement platform it is supplying to NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS).

Announced at Oracle AI World Tour in London, the platform underpins financial operations that process up to £355 billion in NHS transactions annually.

NHS SBS, established in 2004 as a joint venture between the Department of Health and Social Care and Sopra Steria, provides corporate services spanning finance, procurement, workforce and digital to NHS organisations nationwide.

The organisation said the adoption of Oracle’s AI-powered finance suite has enabled the standardisation and automation of key processes, helping NHS bodies improve efficiency while maintaining tighter oversight of spending.

According to NHS SBS, the platform is already delivering measurable results, including the processing of 7.1 million invoices and the recovery of £7.4 billion in debt. The system is also designed to support more consistent financial practices across NHS trusts, reducing duplication and enabling more reliable data insights.

Growing role of cloud platforms

Erika Bannerman, managing director of NHS SBS, described the rollout as a “real achievement” for the organisation and the wider NHS.

“We’ve partnered with Oracle to provide a scalable, AI-powered platform that will help to transform how the NHS works so the focus stays on providing the highest standard of care for patients,” she said.

At the core of the platform is Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), which NHS SBS said is helping to increase productivity and reduce operational costs. Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) provides enhanced analytics capabilities to support planning, forecasting and decision-making.

The deployment also includes a migration of critical systems to Oracle Exadata Database Service on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). NHS SBS said this has improved system performance and enabled automated data integrations, helping to accelerate supplier payments and improve payment accuracy.

The move to OCI has also delivered early financial benefits, with NHS SBS reporting more than £500,000 in cost savings while laying the groundwork for a more integrated and resilient finance function across the NHS.

Siobhan Wilson, SVP for Oracle EMEA Applications and UK country manager, said the project highlights the growing role of cloud platforms in supporting public sector transformation.

“With Oracle Fusion Applications, NHS SBS has been able to implement an AI-powered system that not only delivers financial excellence for NHS trusts but frees up time to allow staff to focus on providing exceptional patient care,” she said.