West London NHS Trust has shared progress on transformation and digital, with highlights including cyber remediation, digital productivity, and ambient voice pilots.
The trust shares progress including a current review of IT estates, systems, and processes, to inform a coproduced digital strategy focusing on robust infrastructure, cyber security, effective EPR solutions, data and insights, innovation, and empowering people. A cyber strategy and engagement plan are also being developed in support.
Under system optimisation, work has progressed toward innovating service development and delivery, with key deliverables such as S1 migration, EPMA rollout, and an EPR business case. An initial optimisation approach has been created by the CCIO, with a review of existing uses of clinical systems set to identify further improvements. EPMA rollout to Broadmoor and Forensic services is marked as “complete”, with the next phase to focus on acute MH wards and Ealing community ward, Clayponds.
Productivity gains are being sought through the rollout of robotic process automation initiatives and digitalisation projects, the trust notes. In CAMHS, it states: “BOTs developed to automate current paper based processes to support patient data entry – patient outcome data and patient surveys. Configuration is almost complete and ready for rollout.” An RPA pilot to support referrals triaged by admin and clinical staff to S1 units saw the saving of two hours per day in processing time over six months, the trust notes. Projects including digital observations are also “progressing” following issues with integration with clinical systems.
Developments are being made in AI, with West London’s AI policy currently under review in preparation for its presentation to the IG board. Interim guidance has been published and disseminated to ensure AI tools are not being used with clinical data, and an AI innovation group is to be set up to identify potential opportunities in this space. A joint ambient voice pilot is being explored in Ealing paediatric services, with the trust looking to explore its benefits to see if there is an option for wider rollout across its services. A one-year pilot of Copilot is also underway, with 200 Copilot licenses issues to the trust for this purpose, with the intention of linking to productivity programmes.
For efforts to improve data and insights, the trust shares that the community faster daily flows (FDF) process has been completed for Ealing and Hounslow, and that work is nearing completion on updating 150 dashboards with the new Local Services Borough service hierarchy. The first stage of work toward a collaborative data platform, the identification of a single provider of a cloud-based BI platform, has been started with an initial market exploration and a business case to be developed.
On cyber, the trust added: “Following the incident which took place on 12 January 2025, the trust has been progressing with a remediation action plan. This has included the improvements required by the enhanced ‘Data Security and Protection Toolkit’ which has changed to include standards stipulated by the ‘Cyber Assessment Framework’.”
Digital transformation from NHS trusts
For a recent HTN Now webinar on the topic of building digital literacy, confidence, and skills, we were joined by Neill Crump, digital strategy director at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Sue Ottley, digital capability transformation manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; and Tony Green, lead UX designer at Aire Logic. Our panellists considered what digital literacy looks like for the NHS workforce, outlining current gaps and debating what kinds of digital skills are likely to be required of the NHS workforce of the future.
East Cheshire NHS Trust and Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have launched the MEDITECH EPR. East Cheshire NHS Trust shared further details about the system and what it means for patients and staff, adding that the system will reduce reliance on paper records at both organisations, as well as laying the foundation for future innovation in patient care.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recently introduced ambient voice technology to a range of their services as part of phase one of their two-phase trial, with the hope that it will “enhance the experience of patients and staff” and give clinicians more time to interact with patients.
