Somerset ICS’s latest board meeting shared an update on the region’s Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) strategy, published with the intention of supporting communications and building a “movement for change”, offering stakeholders a “window” into system-wide work to “unblock delivery”.
Outlining the historical work that has gone into the strategy’s development, the ICS shares how it conducted an initial assessment of “as is” capabilities, requiring an audit of technologies in use across the system, integrations, digital services, and dashboards. This included, it goes on, domain mapping to understand how different parts of the system work together and how that can be improved, how information moves, how business processes function, and potential future opportunities.
The ICS notes its technology mapping review, to inform planning and to allow the system to “make the most of what we already have”, understanding what systems can do now, and their underlying infrastructure. On technical and operational standards, the ICS adds how this review has helped to see differences and commonalities, supporting an aim to make systems and processes work better across the ICS. It also covered capability mapping across teams and departments, and governance structure mapping to understand how decisions are made and who is involved.
The ICS’s vision, according to its website, centres around breaking down technological and cultural barriers that “silo us into our respective organisations”; becoming a “team of teams”, building a “single view of an individual through a digital lens”, and building common data platforms to promote data flow; and placing people at the heart of digital service development, offering “an accessible, trusted set of digital services that help individuals find the right care and support for them”. A webpage also presents guiding principles for the strategy including that it is person-centric, collaborative, inclusive, aligned, and ethical; and key capabilities which stand as enablers to the strategy’s delivery, covering leadership, governance, capability, and data.
The roadmap itself outlines three “missions”. For “working together”, it focuses on using digital and data to enable teams to work “effectively and seamlessly”, allowing teams across the system to communicate, share knowledge, and exchange information, creating communities of practice and establishing DDaT governance for the partnership.
The system also looks to its second mission of “improving lives”, committing to developing a data platform to promote data and intelligence capabilities, and to “drive integrated and joined-up thinking”. The strategy notes expected outcomes including connecting data to “showcase where factors influence population wellbeing”, segmenting the population to identify and reduce inequalities, and identifying data trends to support the system’s development of preventative measures.
And the final mission, around navigating support, looks to provide residents, patients and providers access to information “quickly and easily”, with proposed outcomes including the development of a “user-need driven” digital service, access to relevant information “based on digital navigation tools”, and offering options for support including signposting to “local offers”.
“We’ll create groups where colleagues can share knowledge and best practices across our health system,” the strategy states. “This will help us come up with new ideas faster and ensure high-quality digital solutions everywhere.” The strategy also communicates the ICS’s plans around setting out “clear rules” for tech projects involving different partners to help ensure the deployment of common standards and the effective management of quality and risk. To read Somerset’s DDaT strategy in full, please click here.
Digital strategy across the NHS
North West London ICS’s latest board meeting shared insights into the developments in the region, including challenges around cyber resilience, digital in primary care, an update on its digital programmes and progress towards integrated neighbourhood teams.
South West London ICS published its latest digital strategy covering 2025-2028, centred around five digital priorities: digital infrastructure, integrating systems, data strategy, empowering citizens, and innovation. Noting the organic growth of SWL’s current digital infrastructure, the plan cites the need to create a “robust and secure digital platform across SWL, ensuring comprehensive cyber security, system and data availability, data quality and appropriate governance”.
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust’s latest strategy to 2030 has also been published, with a focus on modernising infrastructure, introducing digital tools and technologies supporting productivity, and enhancing digital skills to support modern ways of working. The strategy details progress made since the publication of the trust’s last strategy covering 2020-2025, including becoming “a leader in digital” and putting in place “foundations for achieving excellence in the future”.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust shared its organisational strategy for 2025 – 2030, setting out its vision, objectives and measures, as well noting the opportunities to utilise data, innovation and a digital-first approach. The trust opens with its vision to state “delivering the strategy will take time and will involve navigating problems along the way, adding that “it will mean learning how to fail, and trying something new, if our actions don’t deliver the desired outcomes”.
