A report by the Kings Fund says the NHS in England is still heavily reliant on paper records, despite government commitments to make the service “paperless.” The analysis finds that only five NHS trusts have fully digitised patient records. It also estimates that the wider NHS spends about £240 million each year on paper-based record keeping. The findings highlight a gap between policy goals and current implementation across trusts, suggesting that many organisations continue to use paper alongside digital systems. The Kings Fund’s conclusions point to uneven progress in digitisation, rather than consistent nationwide adoption. They also underscore that ongoing costs associated with paper records persist even as “digital” initiatives continue. Across the available reporting, the key theme is that digitisation is not yet universal, and significant resources are still allocated to paper documentation.