A patient engagement portal developed by a team in-house at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay has reportedly saved close to £3 million, UHMB has shared.
The portal is now utilised across Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB, including Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Its patient engagement portal+ (PEP+) was created by the trust’s Information, Informatics and Innovation (I3) Digital Services Team to offer patients access to their information, provide greater control over appointments, and improve preparation for appointments with digital questionnaires.
Appointment slots can be selected by patients via the portal for “many services”, UHMB states, with appointment letters delivered digitally “within seconds”. Other features include personalised guidance on preparing for surgery, and streamlined patient initiated follow-up pathways for those with long-term conditions, with the team also working on developing consent document delivery and two-way messaging between patients and clinical teams.
Adam Lucas, part of the team creating PEP+, shared how the portal is designed with accessibility “at its core”, using large, colourful buttons to help improve usability for those with limited digital skills or physical challenges, as well as dyslexic-friendly text options, translation options, and a responsive design that adapts to different devices.
For staff, PEP+ has reportedly reduced administrative work and streamlined workflows using automation, saving “significant time” in appointment bookings. The trust shares that £1.6 million has been saved via self-booking alone, and that the portal has resulted in a 50 percent reduction in printing and postage costs.
Over 300,000 waiting list validations have been completed with PEP+ to date, with 200,000 digital appointment letters sent, and 500 digital pain management questionnaires completed. Alison Balson, UHMBT’s chief people officer, highlighted the project as “a shining example of how digital innovation can transform care for our patients”, adding: “By giving people greater control over their appointments and faster access to vital information, we’re not only improving the patient experience – we are empowering our patients to take an active role in their care and treatment.”
Wider trend: Patient-facing tech
For a HTN Now discussion on building safer care and embedding clinical safety into digital pathways, we were joined by a panel including Corrina Hulkes, associate CNIO at Health Systems Support Ltd; Peter Hansell, CEO and co-founder at Isla Health; Victoria Mustafa, regional quality, safety and digital lead for London at NHS England; and Ruth North, clinical safety officer at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust. Panellists offered their insights on how digital pathways can be designed with safety at their core, exploring practical strategies, tools, and best practices for embedding clinical safety into digital care models to improve outcomes and build trust.
NHS England has published its medium term planning framework to outline the priority deliverables ICBs and providers should focus on for the next three-to-five years. A roadmap for the delivery of the NHS App functions described in the 10-Year Plan will be brought forward, and work is due to continue on NHS Online, the “online hospital” to help patients connect with experts across England from 2027, aiming to support patient choice and control.
The Welsh Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing also shared an update on the NHS Wales App, its use and plans for upcoming features, including test results, patient-reported outcomes, and an “about me” section for patients to share information they would like health professionals to know about them. Since the beta launch in April 2023, the App has been downloaded by more than half a million people; equivalent to one in five adults in Wales, and with more than nine million log-ins.
