Primary Care Region Series: North West
Welcome to our primary care region series, where we explore the latest on digital and data in primary care from each of the seven NHS regions in turn. In this instalment, we turn our attention to the North West region, where we cover digital strategy from integrated care boards, insights on the future direction, and market trends.
Digital strategy for primary care
Cheshire and Merseyside
Cheshire and Merseyside ICB recently offered an insight into digital maturity across the system, pointing to the introduction of digital tools for cloud-based telephony, online consultation, online registration, patient bookings, access to records, and patient communication.
In May, the ICB reported on “key underspends” in primary care budgets, specifically within primary care transformation funding and primary care IT. It noted the development of the Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Research and Innovation System (IRIS), which it states has allowed the system to emerge as a “national leader” in areas such as primary and community research.
Earlier this year, the ICB highlighted how a focus on early diagnosis and prevention for cancer has seen a primary care data dashboard developed containing data fed in from GP systems to offer an overview of real-time key cancer incidence, early detection and prevention metrics to local services and system leaders. For 2025/26, Cheshire and Merseyside plan to launch phases three and four, adding data on health inclusion groups, referral dynamics, test data, linked conditions, and more. Dashboard intelligence will be “strongly embedded” in programmes and decision making, and early adopter projects will be funded to help build a repository of projects and resources for the Cancer Academy.
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester ICB’s Annual Plan for 2025/26 states that the system’s digital transformation strategy is set to be updated to support Darzi’s three shifts and in response to challenges identified in various assessments, the needs of PCARP, and modern general practice. It outlines primary care as one of its key improvement programmes, focusing on providing support for practices in delivering modern general practice access, digital tools, and aligning with neighbourhoods and community working. Digital technology is also mentioned in terms of supporting cross-organisational scheduling and reporting.
The ICB shared details in May of six projects around increasing the use of the NHS App, developing patient engagement portals, the GMCR My Patient Health Record, and the use of online triage and booking tools in primary care. This has included the use of digital facilitators to support the delivery of patient and practice take-up of the NHS App, the ICB reports.
Lancashire and South Cumbria
In Lancashire and South Cumbria’s Digital and Data Strategy to 2029, the ICB lists digital and data priorities including utilising data in the single data warehouse and information from core care systems to enable proactive primary care. A single GP record system is part of the “future state”, it goes on, and as part of the national Wayfinder programme the PEP+ solution is being integrated into the NHS App to allow patients access to their primary and secondary care information in one place.
One of the system’s priorities is working toward its Secure Data Environment (SDE), where an ICS-wide data lakehouse architecture has been created and has begun collecting data from providers and primary care, the ICB shares. The ambition is to have a single set of data platforms and tools to support reporting, service planning, and population health management. The “future state” will see the SDE bringing together data from a range of sources for analysis in real-time and a whole system view of information and insight.
In the strategy, the ICB also discusses how projects such as Digital Front door Online Consultation Video Consultation (DFOCVC) platforms and Accelerated Citizens Access to GP Data (ACAGPD) for General Practice were delivered at scale. “This meant GP practices could communicate with patients, provide information, and conduct appointments digitally, as well as patients having access to their prospective records. This coincided with greater development in NHS App functionality.” The impact of this, it continues, is that patients no longer need to attend practices to order prescriptions, manage referrals, access medical records, or manage ongoing monitoring.
How Restore Information Management increased clinical space and enhanced patient care for practices
A key challenge often faced by staff in general practice is that of physical space. Appointments have been recorded manually on paper for many decades, and for busy practice staff, this can lead to the time-consuming process of having to visit a storage space to locate a particular patient record. Unstructured data is also an issue, which makes it more difficult for clinicians to access the information they need, when they need it, and detracts from the usefulness of data for things like population health management.
There can also be significant financial implications associated with this approach, with space within the practice used to store records when that space could be better used for caring, sometimes leading organisations to look at hiring physical storage elsewhere. This then leads to further costs relating to accessing and sharing files, which practices also need to take into consideration. There are challenges with the vulnerability of paper records, both physically given their delicate nature and in terms of security, with greater risks of GDPR breaches or loss of information.
There can be knock-on effects for patients, too, given the length of time that the retrieval of documents or information on a patient’s history can take, particularly if that information is currently held by a different provider. This can mean delays for patients, or errors in patient care in the event of a miscommunication; and there are additional financial and security implications from having to post papers securely to the appropriate location.
Oxfordshire (which has since formed part of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB) approached the Restore Information Management team with similar challenges.
Initially, the plan was to store the records at box level, capturing records in range order with a view to keeping the costs minimal. However, Restore Information Management identified that this method could lead to additional costs further down the line as a result of potential difficulties with maintaining a full audit trail. Following discussions to pinpoint the best and most cost-effective approach, Oxfordshire CCG opted to document each patient record individually.
Importantly for the organisation, records had to be retrievable at all stages. To minimise costs, practice staff boxed up the records, capturing the start and end range on each of the boxes before they were transported using one of Restore Information Management’s GPS-tracked vehicles to their secure facilities at Upper Heyford. A data capture of the box range on initial entry into the storage facility was performed, which allowed access during the data entry stage, and then Restore began the process of capturing the name, NHS number and date of birth of each patient, uploading the data to the Records Information System. Access to this was granted to each practice via Restore’s online portal, RestoreWeb, which allowed oversight of what records had been stored and enabled requests for retrieval.
The results? Processes and systems were set up within agreed timeframes, enabling practices to free up much needed space for patient care, and improving employee experience. Sarah Harwood, senior commissioning manager for primary care at the CCG, described how initial discussions enabled the development of a contract for the work to be undertaken, with Restore Information Management also contributing to a responding Data Protection Impact Assessment, supporting the CCG with information governance, and helping to identify risks. “They have been hugely accommodating,” said Sarah, “extremely responsive to any issues that have arisen and very easy to work with.”
In particular, Sarah noted: “Feedback from the practices who have been involved with the project has also been positive.”
Click here to find out how Restore Information Management can help free up clinical space in your practice >
News on digital in primary care
NHS England has opened a preliminary market engagement notice, inviting suppliers to take part in introducing a market to digital primary care, offering solutions for procurement by ICBs and approved agencies across the UK. As part of NHSE’s Transformation Directorate, it follows the previous engagement for the GP IT Futures Framework, with the aim to ensure “streamlined access to innovative digital solutions” within healthcare. Proposed solutions should be “reflective of healthcare professionals’ needs”, as shown through research and user engagement, while also enhancing current solutions in development or those that are “already assured for marketing on the DSIC catalogue”.
NHS England has announced the approval of a core primary care clinical IT system through its Tech Innovation Framework. Marking “the first of a new generation” of EPRs for GPs, Medicus Health has been approved with more supplies expected to be approved imminently. The suppliers in the programme are said to deliver cloud-based solutions that can be used on a variety of different devices, with an aim to help integrate primary care with other care settings. To be approved through TIF also requires the solutions to integrate with the NHS App, the e-Referral service, and the electronic prescription service.
A large-scale public engagement report commissioned by NHSE on building and maintaining public trust in data use across health and care has been published, focusing on the approach to creating a single patient record and the secondary use of GP data. Policy recommendations around these findings state that decision-making should move to “a model that balances the need for national consistency and regional responsiveness”, with participants given clear insight into how decisions have been made, with voices of lay people, experts in data security, and GPs represented in the decision-making model.
OX.DH, a provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, has achieved compliance onto the NHS England Tech Innovation Framework, part of NHS reforms to increase competition and innovation in the primary care market. NHS England has now approved OX.DH’s primary care solution, OX.gp, as part of a new generation of electronic patient record systems for GPs.
Over 1,000 GP surgeries are set to receive a share of £102 million as a result of the government’s Primary Care Utilisation and Modernisation Fund. It’s the first national capital fund for primary care estates since 2020 and forms part of a series of measures announced to increase support for primary care. According to the announcement, the funding will support primary care to either enhance the use of existing infrastructure or to create additional capacity. “From creating new consultation and treatment rooms to making better use of existing space,” it states, “these quick fixes will help patients across the country be seen faster.”
A panel discussion in January considered how general practice, PCNs, and ICBs can utilise data and leverage technology to support operational efficiencies and improvements across primary care. Panellists included Kathryn Salt, assistant director of primary & community care, data and analytics for the Transformation Directorate, NHS England; Dr Shanker Vijayadeva, GP lead, digital transformation for the London region at NHS England; Dr Sheikh Mateen Ellahi, GP and practice partner at ELM Tree Surgery and South Stockton Primary Care Network; and Max Gattlin, digital consultant at X-on Health.
In June, HTN was also joined by a panel of experts from across the health and care system to discuss how best to harness data for total triage, covering successes, challenges, learnings, and best practices. Panellists included Ananya Datta, associate director of primary care digital delivery at South East London ICB; Asad Ashraf, GP and digital clinical lead at North East London ICB; and Devin Gray, GP and clinical lead for digital first programme at Wandsworth GP Federation.
A recent poll on our LinkedIn page asked the question, what do you think should be the biggest priority for digital primary care – patient-facing digital tools, interoperability, funding to support innovation, or back office efficiencies? With 39 percent of the vote, patient-facing digital tools came out on top. Coming in a close second was interoperability with 38 percent of the vote, with interest from GPs, practice managers and pharmacists.
HTN’s Primary Care Awards celebrated innovations, solutions, case studies, collaborations and projects helping to shape future services and systems across health and care. The awards highlighted excellence in digital primary care across four categories: Partnership of the Year, Digital Solution of the Year, Case Study of the Year, and Improvement Initiative of the Year. A digital awards ceremony announced winners and runners up across each of the categories.
Access to primary care in the North West region
Cheshire and Merseyside
In Cheshire and Merseyside’s board meeting in November, the ICB shared examples of positive work, such as the implementation of population health management tools through the Combined Intelligence for Population Health Action (CIPHA) platform. This reportedly enhanced case-finding tools to help proactively identify “the most vulnerable people/known to multiple services and high deprivation areas”. Two priority groups were identified, and work has been done to provide tech-enabled care to allow patients to be monitored remotely in their own home to prevent falls and deterioration.
According to the ICB, 173 practices were part of a programme funding exit costs from current suppliers and implementation costs to switch from analogue to advanced cloud-based telephony solutions. Practices across Cheshire and Merseyside have access to digital tools commissioned by the ICB to support with faster navigation, assessment, and response, and 105 practices have signed up to be part of a pilot of Blinx PACO to support the delivery of modern general practice.
The ICB has been running digital inclusion campaigns to promote the use of the NHS App, noting particular success in Cheshire West, where the recruitment of young volunteers supporting people in downloading, registering, and using the app meant a practice saw an increase of 900 prescriptions ordered through the NHS App in the first six months. A total of 56 percent of the 13+ population in the region have registered for the app as of the date of this update. “Further work in terms of quantifying demand for local populations remains an area for further development”, the ICB notes, also highlighting ongoing work around the primary-secondary interface.
Greater Manchester
An update on Greater Manchester ICBs primary care blueprint highlighted positive progress around the adoption of the modern general practice access model and the use of digital to support patient care. The board shares stats around NHS App use in the region, with 52 percent of the eligible population reportedly registered for the app. The report states that GM is “doing well in encouraging use of the NHS App and functionality”, and notes that digital facilitators in place to support practices with implementation of cloud telephony have also been able to offer support with encouraging app use.
Looking at online journeys for patients along with care navigation, the board highlights the commitment to provide all practices with the digital tools and care navigation training for the modern general practice access model, and to fund transition cover for those committing to adopting the approach. Work is also ongoing to review practice websites, the board adds, and to offer support and guidance around improvements. Auditing of practice websites has led to “significant” improvements around functionality and patient accessibility.
The ICB also points to continuing work between local authorities, the GM Combined Authority and the Digital First Primary Care Programme, to “ensure that citizens feel enabled to access care digitally featuring system-wide communications and community in-reach from digital facilitators”. The emphasis on digital inclusion extends to primary care provider staff, with the board acknowledging the need for staff to feel confident with using new software and hardware.
Lancashire and South Cumbria
Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB plans to continue to promote the General Practice Improvement Programme and the modern general practice model, along with access work seeking to “accelerate and enhance” aspects to relieve pressures on primary care, such as Pharmacy First and primary-secondary interface work. 98 percent of pharmacies are reported to be currently delivering the Pharmacy First scheme, and since the service began in January 2024, “the number of consultations for the seven defined clinical pathways has remained relatively constant at between 6-7,000 per month”.
