The Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has released a version of its digital strategy for 2021-2026, opening for wider input and consultation ahead of a final publication.
The trust said, to date, the strategy has been formulated following over 100 hours of consultation from all stakeholders to support the development of the five-year digital plan, and it’s now released a consultation strategy to help inform the final version.
In the paper the trust highlights it’s ‘the perfect opportunity’ over the next 12 months to be ‘match-fit digitally for the upcoming ICS strategy’.
The comprehensive strategy has 15 themes including; wellbeing and prevention; digital up-skilling and confidence; remote care and monitoring; information, data management and business intelligence; workflow processes, alerting and paperless operations; integrated care systems and single care plan; strategic partnerships and customer focus; choice and empowerment; digital inclusion and equalities; communication and awareness of news systems; connectivity, performance and security; service user engagement; remote and agile working; estates and digital; and innovation.
A key component of the strategy is to transform how the organisation captures, accesses and analyses data, it states: “Data is most useful at the point of delivery to help influence day to day decisions and we need to empower our service users and staff with the information they need to make the best choices. It is essential that we also lift this information to a macro scale to inform population health needs and where our system priorities and focus areas should be.”
An overview transformation plan is included, covering areas on the roadmap to create a digital maturity baseline, digitalise forms and access, create a cloud first offering, and to create a digital capability framework and toolkit.
It also plans unified digital pathways, longitudinal care records, remote care, population health analytics, smart buildings, wearables, virtually assisted triage and referrals, and service user access to records.
Richard Cotterell, Chairman, commented: “As a board we are fully committed to our digital transformation journey, and we will ensure the engagement process continues through the delivery phases to make sure the strategy becomes a reality in the coming years.
“I am pleased to see a vision that is both achievable and one that will resonate across the organisation. For me, the most important element of the strategy is ensuring that the people we care for have their personal information following them as they travel around their care pathways.”
Neil Carr, Chief Executive, commented on the importance of the news strategy: “If there was ever a time where streamlined models of care through partnership working and maximising the use of technology was fundamental, it is now.
“With the demands as they are, unless we do things in partnership, we are dead in the water.”
To view the consultation strategy, please click here.
