East London NHS Foundation Trust has outlined its use of data in informing patient care and patient flow, deploying digital screens, interactive dashboards, and PowerBI.
22 wards across the trust now have digital screens showcasing real-time data on aspects of flow, safety, care plans, observation status, Mental Health Act status, key assessments, and expected discharge date. Co-designed with clinicians and service users, the screens update every 15 minutes, supporting safety huddles, team meetings, and handovers.
An Early Warning System developed in the trust offers predictions on when wards may require additional support, with an email update sent out to all inpatient leads every week. It provides a heat map using ten measures identified by wards as being predictive for safety, covering bank usage, staff sickness, occupancy levels, and more.
“The heat map – based on statistical process control rules for identifying unusual variation – can pick up both trends over time that might be unnoticeable in a busy ward environment,” ELFT states. “This system is believed to be the first of its type developed in mental health.”
The trust has developed interactive dashboards for DIALOG, a patient reported outcome tool designed to evaluate satisfaction across mental health, physical health, and relationships. These dashboards are integrated into the clinical record system, “enabling both patients and clinicians to track and review scores in real-time during each assessment”.
A PowerBI platform is also in use across ELFT to offer insight into trends and patterns in patient populations and services, giving leadership teams the opportunity to identify areas for improvement, make strategic decisions, and explore service effectiveness.
Wider trend: Data in supporting patient care
For a recent HTN Now webinar on the role of data and digital in supporting population health management (PHM), we were joined by a panel including Victoria Townshend, portfolio director (associate) with the GIRFT Elective Team; Mayur Vibhuti, CCIO and GP clinical lead for digital at Kent and Medway ICB; and Harry Thirkettle, director of health and innovation from Aire Logic. Our panellists explored and discussed approaches to PHM, successes, challenges, what works and what doesn’t, through to measuring the impact of PHM interventions.
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside has shared some of the key benefits of using their imaging dashboard, CAMDASH, including a reduction in waiting lists for radiology and improved efficiency. CAMDASH is being used in radiology departments across 11 NHS trusts within the region, collecting and linking operational and performance data around waiting times, capacity, referrals, did-not-attend rates and more. This reportedly provides a central view for each trust, making it easier to identify trends and patterns that allow clinicians to “take proactive action to improve patient access and experience”.
Patients Know Best has announced it has surpassed 6 million registered patients as it closes out the year, representing a 30 percent increase since the start of 2025. Since launching its GP data integration six months ago, over 2.5 million patients have chosen to also add their GP data alongside their hospital information, delivering a single patient record at scale. The company shared with HTN that “this enriched record is driving stronger engagement, with these patients’ monthly logins increasing from 35 percent to 45 percent”, reflecting the “value people see when they can access, understand, and manage a fuller view of their health”.
