South West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) is a five-year plan to look at ways in which NHS partners across south west London can work with local authorities in the area to provide quality and efficiency for patients.
The STP highlighted “Technology is a critical enabler of many of the recommendations that are being made within our Five year forward plan. We know that information sharing, so that clinical information about an individual follows them between different health and social care services, is key to delivering more joined up care that we describe in the ‘right care in the best place’ chapter. We also know we can better support patients to look after themselves and manage their own conditions, as set out in the ‘preventative and early intervention’ section, such as using technology to monitor symptoms remotely. We are committed to ensuring that as many citizens in SWL are digitally enabled through education and targeted support, as part of delivering the information revolution.”
The STP highlighted the digital requirements for supporting the plan to be categorised as:
- Digitally-enabled self-care: using technology to help patients to capture and share information relating to their condition, or provide information, such as their record, to help them make informed decisions about managing their health.
- Channel shift: using technology like video conferencing to break down barriers to access between patients and clinicians and to help clinicians get rapid specialist input where necessary e.g. before referring a patient.
- Information sharing for the point of care: helping health and care professionals make the best decisions possible by providing access to all relevant information about an individual, including clinical records and care plans.
- Information sharing for whole systems intelligence: combining clinical, operational and financial information to derive insights into how we can improve how services are commissioned and delivered.
- Mobile infrastructure: making sure digital technology is available to clinicians and care professionals when and where they need it.
Councillor Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council and South London Partnership Health Lead, said:
The South West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan (STP) has been developed by a wide range of NHS partners across the area and there has been somestrategicengagement by them with the public and other interested bodies. Boroughs have been informally updated on this work – and we welcome our NHS colleagues’ recognition of the need to strengthen joint working to integrate services and improve outcomes for our residents.
However, as boroughs, we are concerned that the NHS centrally has not allowed the publication of our STP and that this is raising worries about its content and the process around its development. I am therefore publishing the South West London STP to increase transparency and support the development of robust plans that will deliver better services and outcomes across our area.
The six boroughs in South West London agree with our NHS colleagues that we need a much greater emphasis on prevention, self-care and integrated care as close to home as possible.We also recognise that considerable further work is needed to develop the detailed plans to deliver these changes and to ensure that our residents are able to access high quality hospital care when they need itand where they need it. We look forward to working with our NHS colleagues as they develop their plans to ensure that all the residents in our area have access to excellent healthcare.
To download the STP click here: South West London Sustainability and Transformation Plan
