Primary Care Region Series: South East
Welcome back 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 final instalment, we turn our attention to the South East region, where we cover the latest on digital strategy from integrated care boards, insights on future direction, primary care recovery, and market trends.
Digital strategy for primary care
Oxfordshire and Berkshire West
A primary care strategy update shared by Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) ICB highlighted the ICB’s plans to ensure the continuation of digital tools to support interoperability and working across providers, as well as to work toward shared patient records and connected data for clinical decision making. The NHS App will be used to help people get the right support to meet their needs first time and GP Connect is in place to enable community pharmacy to input directly into the patient record. There’s also an electronic referral platform which has been secured to allow community optometrists to send urgent and routine referrals directly to a patients’ chosen single point of access.
Frimley Health and Care
Frimley ICB offered an update on primary care transformation, highlighting ongoing efforts to use digital to support people in getting the right care for their needs “early in their journey” and to direct clinical capacity to where it is most needed. It also noted self-care options and alternatives to general practice, with digital enablers including the Frimley Healthier Together website. The use of digital tools is also mentioned in relation to the management of long-term conditions, where the ICB talks about introducing “automatable solutions” for use at scale to allow face-to-face capacity to be used where required.
Kent and Medway
In NHS Kent and Medway’s Primary Care Strategy, the ICB points to the role of technology in supporting models of care and to interoperability as a key enabler. Over the next few years, it shares plans to enable Enterprise System Architecture aimed at “upgrading and integrating backend core IT systems and services to enable accelerated adoption of modern technologies and drive clinical improvements, efficiencies and change”. It also looks to accelerate innovation and adoption in primary care through the deployment of new tech solutions and capabilities, using test beds, facilitating evaluation, and employing best practices for tech-led care.
At the most recent meeting of the Kent and Medway board in July, the ICB noted the increasing use of data-driven approaches in primary care to identify at-risk patients, improve coding, and support targeted interventions. Work has also been underway to increase referrals into the Digital Weight Management Programme. Priority objectives, as outlined in the board assurance framework against delivery of year one primary care strategy milestones, cover a review of digital infrastructure and the development of an architecture map. Progress is noted around primary care IG digital front door and practice/PCN early adopters to share DPIA and clinical safety awareness.
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
In Hampshire and the Isle of Wight’s Digital, Data and Technology Strategy to 2029, the ICB sets out objectives to improve patient access, digital inclusion, and literacy; converge and simplify clinical systems; enhance interoperability; simplify infrastructure and technology; and consolidate data platforms and services. GP practices will simplify and integrate their systems, it states, whilst routes of communication between primary and secondary care will be streamlined along with investment in a strategic interoperability solution (CHIE).
In the ICB’s Joint Forward Plan for 2025/26, ambitions are shared to utilise digital and data-driven triage tools, and to test the use of AI in prioritising and navigating patients to the most appropriate local services. Improvements and IT upgrades will be made in general practice, and a refresh of the primary care strategy is planned to develop a clear vision and delivery plan for Modern General Practice.
Surrey Heartlands
The Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care Strategy outlines the ICB’s key priorities, focusing on more joined-up digital infrastructure and pathways. Integration across the system is planned, with the development of a system-wide data and digital platform to underpin a population health-based approach to health and wellbeing, and a system intelligence function supporting collaboration between partners.
A March update on developments in general practice and primary care integration highlighted key targets around cardiovascular disease monitoring, enhanced collaboration with community pharmacy, and advice and guidance payments for GPs to support integration with acute and mental health services. “There is a strong ambition to integrate pharmacy, optometry, and dentistry (POD) into the primary care model, particularly to address dental issues that could be managed outside of hospital settings,” it states.
Sussex Health and Care Partnership
NHS Sussex Integrated Care System’s latest People and Digital Committee report outlines several key digital and data successes over the past quarter, including the launch of the Plexus Transfer of Care Hubs dashboard and NHS App uptake. The shared care record reportedly draws data from 156 GP practices, and GP data is flowed into the Sussex Integrated Dataset. Other key areas of success identified in the report include the trialling of a GP frailty tool at Bexhill PCN and the completion of critical IT infrastructure upgrades at multiple practices to help them “meet their digital contractual requirements”. The ICB also published its Digital Inclusion Strategic Approach for 2025 – 2027, placing a spotlight on work to support patient choice and access, strengthen digital skills, and improve service delivery.
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
The CQC has issued guidance on the use of AI in GP services, sharing what it looks at when assessing safety and compliance across areas including procurement, governance, human oversight, learning from errors, data protection, and staff training. Assessors will check AI tools have been procured in line with relevant evidence and regulatory standards such as DCB0160 and DTAC, also reviewing clinical governance arrangements to check appropriate and safe use. “If an AI tool is supplied from an NHS procurement list it is reasonable for the practice to assume that appropriate developer standards have been met,” the CQC states, “but there is still the need to ensure that it is deployed in line with its intended purpose and evidence of regulatory standards reviewed.”
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.
OX.DH, a provider of innovative healthcare technology solutions, has also achieved compliance onto the NHS England Tech Innovation Framework, as 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.
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, having voices of lay people, experts in data security, and GPs represented in the decision-making model.
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 South East region
Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West
An update on primary care access from BOB ICB states that the ICB will continue to support core digital tools required for general practice access. Monitoring of practice performance is being maintained through the Primary Care Quality Dashboard, with the move to achieve operating plan commitments for primary care to include the alignment of the dashboard with the wider region and the FDP. For Pharmacy First, in July the ICB noted that 13,722 appointments had been delivered through community pharmacy for clinical consultations across seven conditions.
Looking ahead, the ICB shares plans to develop a communication plan for co-designing campaigns with service users, which will cover things like how to access primary care services and developing an evaluation plan to assess what is having a positive impact on patient outcomes and experiences.
Frimley Health and Care
Frimley ICB last updated on progress around PCARP, highlighting key achievements including that 100 percent of practice websites are compliant with NHSE guidelines, an increase of 22 percent in NHS App utilisation, and 91 percent of practices having completed capacity and demand plans for Modern General Practice. “Over 80 general practice premises have been assessed for improvement and redevelopment needs,” it states, “with new policies developed to include PCN essential needs in the ICB estates and IT planning.”
Other updates for PCARP include the expansion of self-referral pathways with a focus initially on MSK, audiology, and podiatry. The impact of the Pharmacy First scheme has reportedly been that 18,000 patients have received treatment in community pharmacies, freeing up 2,500 hours of GP time in six months. The ICB is also in the process of learning from elements of the Modern General Practice model already in place in practices, to see what has worked and what hasn’t.
Kent and Medway
Kent and Medway reported on the second quarter, year two, of their PCARP progress, highlighting further work required on prospective records access and uptake of the NHS App. A total of 100 percent of practices have made the NHS App available to their patients, with the NHS App Utilisation Optimisation project having supported practices to promote its use to patients. The ICB’s comms team completed an online survey of local patients’ knowledge and views on the app, which received 1,563 submissions. Main findings included that people wanted the app to “work better” and not have problems around logging in, allow them to book GP and hospital appointments “easily”, show all their medical records, including test results, allow them to send messages to their GP, let them know how their personal data is protected, and be “easier to understand and use”.
On self-referral pathways, the ICB shared that whilst not all pathways are currently able to offer self-referral access, “it is recognised the work remains an important deliverable for the 24/25 year 2 of the Delivery Plan”, highlighting that where self-referral has been possible, this has been at a rate of 578.5 per 100,000 population, “the highest rate of all South East region ICBs”. Pharmacy First is also progressing, with the ICB focusing on maximising the number of patients seen within community pharmacy and empowering patients to understand how these services can be accessed. 100 percent of practices have cloud-based telephony enabled, and the ICB has messaging, online and video consultation solutions across all of its practices.
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight
Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ICB offered an update on PCARP, highlighting a 75 percent increase in demand on primary care services and the opportunities to “better manage demand through alternative healthcare providers, increased digital options, and optimised staffing, aiming to create capacity for senior GPs to focus on complex cases”. To manage calls during peak times, enhanced phone technology has been introduced in practices, it states, whilst non-clinical staff are receiving training in triage and redirection to improve efficiency. There has been a push to increase NHS App usage, but the ICB notes further work is required to support uptake.
Pharmacy First “remains successful” according to the ICB, with patients using pharmacy services more regularly for minor illnesses. The next steps will be to set clear targets and control measures now that more data is available, it states. On the primary-secondary interface, progress is marked as “ongoing” and “slowed by recent financial challenges”, but the ICB shares that a new programme board, co-chaired by a patient representative, “will set the vision for seamless primary and secondary care integration”. Positive developments in dialogue were similarly observed between the ICB and GP practices.
Surrey Heartlands
A board assurance and performance update published as part of board papers noted updates around PCARP, including that an assessment for six of the system’s providers has been completed in primary care interface, with acute trusts maintaining or improving achievement against national asks, additional capacity from the Winter Access Fund, and primary care transformation plans underway. “Areas of good success” are identified as NHS App utilisation and online consultation activity. Challenges remain in self-referral pathways and the delivery of Pharmacy First, such as issues with getting “robust data packs”, and the lowest usage of the service in the South East region. Comms work has been done to help support uptake.
Sussex Health and Care Partnership
Sussex ICB shared local PCARP highlights including “record numbers” of GP appointments with “an additional 861,000 appointments (18.5 percent) more than before the pandemic”. A total of 100 percent of practices have enabled patients to use the NHS App to send messages, book appointments, and order repeat prescriptions. To date, 55 percent of patients are signed up to use the App. “We have at least one self-referral pathway in each of the seven services stipulated by NHSE,” the ICB states. It outlines next steps around BI development and engagement with providers to “cleanse CSDS data inputting for better data quality – key focus large providers”.
According to the ICB, 100 percent of practices are now using cloud-based telephony, with “ongoing activity” to support access optimisation, and all practices also have an online consultation solution in place, with continued engagement and data analysis to support improved online patient journeys. 100 percent of practices are using AccuRx as a digital communication tool, sending around two million messages per quarter to patients. As far as practice websites, all practices have engaged with benchmarking audits to improve accessibility and usability, and 97 percent have made changes to align with NHS standards. All practices are now signed up to Modern General Practice Access implementation, and all offer patients the ability to view detailed coded records online.
A further update in March 2025 showed that 9 out of 10 PCARP indicators were being achieved, with further increases in the number of appointments being delivered in general practice. However, the ICB notes that the number of those using Pharmacy First consultation services “was not delivering as planned”, with a campaign being undertaken to encourage uptake. “Despite the opportunity to save administration time with online registrations, there was still a burden on General Practice with referral complexities and follow-ups across NHS providers and systems,” it highlights. “The Board requested that consideration is given to measures which monitor the quality of data provided for online registrations.”
