The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland board shared an insight into digital progress in the region, noting plans to publish a new digital strategy for 2025 – 2028 and work to date on the primary care access recovery plan.
Ian Wakeford, CIO, noted the launch of its digital maternity scheme in January, with new pathways to be introduced from July, adding that this will have the result of simplifying the patient’s record and ensuring there is only one record across the system, with reported overall cash savings. The potential for the LLR care record to ensure increased usage is also considered, whilst Wakeford notes “there will be more data available for staff to access” to support patient care.
The main focus for 2024 at University Hospitals of Leicester was on migration to new PAS functionality within the EPR system, the update continues, and for Leicestershire Partnership the focus has been on patient-facing digital platforms and using data intelligence to reduce health inequalities. Virtual wards have helped save 11,000 bed days in 2024/25, and use of the NHS App has “reduced front door attendances within primary care”, with a trial of AI also taking place using digital champions within PCNs to help teams focus on equity of care.
Challenges, according to the update, centre around workforce, with issues relating to funding, recruiting and retaining staff. “There are also a lot of staff who are coming towards the end of their working lives and therefore may well be retiring in the coming months,” it shares, while new graduates are having to adapt their skills to fit the needs of the system. Even so, it states, the digital programme is being driven forward, with the team set to write the digital strategy for 2025 – 2028.
On progress toward the primary care access recovery plan, the board highlight that impacts have been seen from digital transformation, with a 184 percent increase in patients accessing services online, and increases in capacity and access also noted across the system. Dr Nil Sanganee highlighted the link to the 10-year plan, which has a strong digital focus, adding that “if capacity is to be increased, there needs to be an element of self-referral, increased productivity and efficiency”. Communication campaigns need to be “scaled up”, the update goes on, and the use of digital prescription ordering is one area the team are hoping to improve in the coming months.
Digital transformation in Leicestershire
The first instalment of our ICS regions series covered the Midlands region, delving into digital strategies, compiling insights and sharing the latest news from the 11 ICSs: Birmingham and Solihull; Black Country; Coventry and Warwickshire; Derby and Derbyshire; Herefordshire and Worcestershire; Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland; Lincolnshire; Northamptonshire; Nottingham and Nottinghamshire; Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin; and Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent.
The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Trust Group have joined a European network for responsible AI, in a move said to “reflect the UHL and UHN Group’s leading-edge work to test and embed artificial intelligence solutions for the benefit of patients, communities and colleagues”.
Loughborough University has developed an AI model, aimed at tackling “healthcare challenges faced by people with learning disabilities and multiple health conditions”, with the tool being applied at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. According to a team of computer scientists that have been working on the DECODE project, the model has the ability to “predict how long a person with a learning disability is likely to stay in hospital,” aiming to improve care and resource planning.
