When cyber-attacks target healthcare organisations, the impact goes far beyond systems and data, it directly affects patient care. That reality is why Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust took decisive action to strengthen its cyber security posture, a journey recently highlighted in a Microsoft UK customer story on its move to Microsoft Sentinel.

Behind that transformation was a close collaboration between Royal Cornwall, Microsoft, and Trustmarque as the delivery partner, bringing together platform expertise, real world NHS experience, and the specialist resources needed to deploy at pace.

From Cyber Risk to Cyber Resilience

As outlined in Microsoft’s case study, Royal Cornwall faced growing cyber risk driven by an increasingly digital healthcare environment, geographical complexity, and a rapidly expanding attack surface. The Trust made the strategic decision to modernise its Security Operations by adopting Microsoft Sentinel, enabling improved threat visibility, integration with existing Microsoft security tools, and more efficient incident response.

But technology alone doesn’t deliver resilience.

Successful adoption required:

• Deep knowledge of Microsoft security capabilities
• A deep understanding of how Microsoft is deployed within the NHS
• An understanding of NHS operational pressures and security risks

Trustmarque’s Role: Delivering Expertise and Capacity at the Point of Need

Our Microsoft Security Practice worked alongside Royal Cornwall and Microsoft throughout the engagement, supporting the design, migration, and operationalisation of Microsoft Sentinel within the Trust’s environment.

A key enabler of success was SecureXpert, Trustmarque’s Microsoft-aligned security service. SecureXpert provided Royal Cornwall with direct access to experienced Microsoft Security specialists, extending the Trust’s inhouse capability at a time when speed and confidence were essential.

SecureXpert helped Royal Cornwall:

• Accelerate Sentinel deployment without adding long term overhead
• Apply proven Microsoft security best practices from day one
• Reduce configuration risk and avoid common implementation pitfalls
• Build confidence within the Trust’s own cyber security team

Rather than replacing internal teams, SecureXpert enabled them, ensuring Royal Cornwall retained ownership while gaining the specialist resource required to deliver at pace.

“For NHS organisations, cyber security isn’t just an IT issue, it’s a patient safety issue. Consolidating security tooling and making full use of Microsoft’s native end to end security capabilities allows Trusts to improve visibility, reduce complexity, and respond faster to real threats.”
— Kamal Gayashan, Practice Lead – Microsoft Security & Compliance

Turning Platform Capability into Operational Value

As the Microsoft article highlights, Sentinel’s tight integration with Microsoft’s wider security stack was a major factor in Royal Cornwall’s. Our role was to help turn that platform capability into operational reality.

By combining:

• Microsoft Sentinel
• Trustmarque SecureXpert
• Close alignment with Microsoft engineering and healthcare teams

Royal Cornwall was able to strengthen its cyber defences without creating unnecessary complexity or dependency on disparate security tools.

As AI reshapes both the threat landscape and our defensive capabilities, deployments like this show what's possible when the right platform, the right partner ecosystem, and the right operational mindset come together.

This approach reflects a growing trend across the NHS: consolidate, simplify, and optimise what you already own, rather than adding new point solutions.

A Blueprint for Other NHS Organisations

Royal Cornwall’s success provides a practical blueprint for other NHS Trusts facing similar challenges:

• Rising cyber threats
• Limited internal capacity
• Pressure to extract maximum value from their Microsoft Security investment.

With the right partner and the right services around Microsoft’s security platform, NHS organisations can move faster, reduce risk, and strengthen cyber resilience, without overstretching internal teams.

“It’s rewarding to see this work being acknowledged, and a special moment for our growing team to have their collective efforts recognised by Microsoft globally. As we move into the era of AI lead attacks, we’re working with the NHS to ensure they are on the front foot. I’m proud of the work we’re doing with the NHS."

- James Holton, Practice Director - Cyber Security 

Want to learn more?

Read the full Microsoft customer story here:

👉 Royal Cornwall NHS Trust’s fight to keep its hospitals safe from cyber-attack

Listen to our Webinar with Microsoft and Royal Cornwall