University Hospitals of Liverpool Group is seeking feedback on its five-year strategy developed using population health data – “a once in a generation opportunity to make bold changes and transform patient care for the future”.
Chief executive James Sumner commented: “We need to think differently about the way we work and take a totally different approach if we want to shift the dial and make things better for our population. This is your opportunity to take a look at our proposed plan for the next five years. It outlines the challenge and what we need to do, but we need your support in starting to think about how we do it.”
As well as focuses on partnerships, research and innovation, and attracting and retaining “the brightest and best people” to drive care, the strategy sets out a series of plans for digital and data. The cornerstone of these plans will be the procurement of a single EPR, the group states, along with the development of a shared digital infrastructure with simplified digital systems and reduced logins.
Technology will be used in transforming clinical services, offering alternative pathways to diagnosis, and informing treatment planning models. The move to digital by default and preventative care will also reportedly harness functionality offered by the NHS App, wearables, and AI and automation. Work is already underway in this regard, with the group sharing the example of AI used in dermatology to help determine more quickly which patients may need specialist care, speeding up diagnosis and freeing up dermatologist time.
The group further commits to developing a strategy to use the data collected from its new EPR and other digital systems to help support prevention, early detection, service improvement, and innovation. Also to be considered in the strategy is how the group will work to share and join up data from different sources.
Feedback on the vision set out by the group is being collected through an online survey, which will remain open until 5pm on 27 March. To learn more, or to read the strategy in full, please click here.
Wider trend: Digital strategies from across the health sector
HTN was joined for a deep dive into AI strategy, implementation, adoption, and opportunities by Neill Crump, group associate director of innovation & partnerships at The Dudley Group and Sandwell and West Birmingham, and Pip Hodgson, group digital transformation specialist at University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL) and Northamptonshire (UHN). Our panel discussed their organisation’s approaches to AI and AI strategy, best practices in AI strategy development, Ambient Voice Technology and successful implementation, and the opportunities likely to be ahead with the next wave of AI.
Ireland’s first national AI strategy has been published, outlining opportunities for AI deployment over the next five years, and setting out four strategic pillars covering AI for clinical care, operations, research and innovation, and public health. The government commits to using AI to enhance quality of care, empower clinicians, improve system efficiencies, shorten waiting times, streamline patient pathways, develop targeted insights, and deliver more targeted prevention. The needs of patients and the public will be a guiding principle, along with transparency and trustworthiness, and keeping a human-in-the-loop.
Greater Manchester Mental Health (GMMH) NHS Foundation Trust and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust have published a joint Digital and Data Strategy for 2026 – 2031, aiming to transform the model for mental health, learning disabilities and autism, and to introduce a new operating model underpinned by digital and data. An introduction from both trusts’ CDIOs states: “This strategy represents a significant shift in how we see the role of digital and data. We are moving from treating them as background functions to recognising them as essential organisational capabilities that enable improvement, support clinical decision-making and enhance the experience of staff and service users.”
