NHS board highlights digital in productivity, prevention, efficiency in service delivery, and data in supporting quality strategy

NHS England’s 5 December board meeting highlighted the role of digital in promoting prevention and efficiency in service delivery, as well as noting the role of data in supporting the development of a quality strategy aligning with the 10 Year Health Plan.

Digital, data and productivity

An update on NHS productivity shares that overall activity has increased “across all points of delivery” in the acute sector during the first half of 2024/25, with “large growth” in elective activity, outpatient first and outpatient procedure attendances, diagnostic imaging, and same-day non-elective discharges. Analysis shows that the acute sector has “delivered 5.7 percent more activity (weighted for cost) than in the same period last year”.

For non-acute sectors such as mental health, primary care, and community services; the update notes challenges around data quality and variation, as well as a “lack of granularity in data” which “constrains the ability to capture value of activity accurately, in particular in primary care”. To overcome this, the update highlights work from NHSE on developing productivity measurement in these sectors to “enable trusts and systems to start identifying areas of opportunities”.

When it comes to digital, the NHS productivity update shares estimated benefits from the NHS app of “equivalent to £249 million in financial year 2023/24, including freeing up 2 million hours of staff time and 890,000 hours of GP time”; the ongoing rollout of patient portals in preventing “up to 1.59 million” DNAs and maximising capacity; and the “Ping and Book” service, which it refer to as a “significant modernisation” of breast screening invitations “delivering a better user experience at lower cost by using digital communication channels”.

Again on productivity, the update states that further rollout of the Federated Data Platform is seen as a “key area” of focus, reporting that the target of onboarding 71 trusts “has already been achieved”. Increases in EPR rollout are also noted, forecasting that 92 percent of secondary care trusts will have an EPR by March, alongside predictions that the 80 percent adoption target for digital social care records will be achieved, “driving substantial time savings and reducing pressure on the NHS”.

Data in underpinning quality strategy development

Another item for consideration from the board was a proposal for a quality strategy to align with the forthcoming 10-year plan and wider work, to ensure quality is an “organising principle for the NHS”, and building on recommendations from the Darzi and Dr Dash reviews.

The quality strategy will “among others, use the framework for developing quality set out by Lord Darzi”, with data threading through the seven areas of focus: setting direction and priorities; bringing clarity to quality; measuring and publishing quality; recognising and rewarding quality; building capability; safeguarding quality; and staying ahead.

The use of data will be central to monitoring outcomes and performance, with the board sharing the need to use data effectively to monitor quality, drive improvement, and mitigate risks; the need to “make the most of what data we have” and address any key gaps; the need to use data to “incentivise priority outcomes on quality”; and the need to “stay ahead” by developing research and innovation, specifically aiming to “harness the benefits of big data and artificial intelligence”.

Digital in “health, work and prevention” 

On prevention, the board outline progress in areas including plans for new health and growth accelerators. Initially for “at least” three ICSs in South Yorkshire, North East and North Cumbria, and West Yorkshire. Wave one of this programme will see these ICSs testing a new delivery model “that could ultimately be expanded across all systems, building a more personalised, pro-active, digitally enabled model of prevention”.

With go-live planned for April 2025, the board state that the health and growth accelerators will look to transform service delivery, supporting the move from treating illness to prevention, and from analogue to digital. They also note that accelerators offer the opportunity to “pursue a more radical digitalisation of service delivery for MSK and mental health”, with local teams being supported to “identify and implement suitable digital MSK therapeutics”; while the digitalisation of Talking Therapies “will see national team members working with ICSs to identify suitable digital tools and/or therapeutics to implement”.

DHCW request for support from NHSE on National Major Trauma Registry

The board also share that a request from Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) for support from NHSE on the National Major Trauma Registry (NMTR) has been accepted and published on the NHSE website. The request sought support for DHCW in establishing and operating an information system “for the collection and analysis of National Major Trauma Registry (NMTR) data from the local health boards in Wales relating to trauma patients of any age who meet certain length of stay criteria and have also sustained an NMTR eligible injury as agreed by DHCW and NHS England”.

According to the board, the NMTR dataset “supports trauma receiving units, by providing each trauma unit with case mix adjusted outcome analysis, performance of key process measures and comparisons of trauma care”. From the date of the acceptance, NHSE has “a legal function to comply with the statutory request” to carry out activities including the establishing and operating of systems for the collection and delivery of data necessary for the NMTR; and analysing data collected as deemed necessary to fulfil the purpose of the statutory request.

To read the board papers in full, please click here.

Wider strategy from across the NHS

The publication of Lord Darzi’s report into the state of the NHS back in September outlined key findings including that the NHS “has been starved of capital”, highlighting that over the past 15 years, whilst other sectors have been “radically reshaped” by digital technologies, the NHS remains “in the foothills of digital transformation”. Industry reactions to the report’s publication looked at the missed opportunities for digital transformation, the challenges surrounding that transformation, and the role of tech in helping to secure the future of the NHS.

A HTN Now panel discussion with experts from across the health sector dissected the Darzi report’s findings, reflecting on what is holding the NHS back from innovation; the challenges and missed opportunities; and the role of digital and tech in driving change, supporting a focus on prevention and promoting integrated care. Panellists discussed the need for more direction around the role of digital in the NHS, the need for a renewed focus on investment in tech and digital tools, and the need to do more to empower patients in their own care.

News has also been forthcoming from Scotland, where the Scottish Budget for 2025 to 2026 has been published, vowing to “renew public services” and “create the conditions for every person in Scotland to thrive”. It announces a “record investment” of £21 billion in health and social care which includes an increase in capital spending power of £139 million from 2024-25. For digital healthcare specifically, the budget allocates £114.3 million, and states that this will support the expansion of Hospital at Home services, and a focus on “adopting innovation and digital technology, including accelerating the delivery of our personalised digital health service”.