The Derby & Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (DLN) ICB cluster has published a five-year strategic commissioning and population health improvement plan, detailing the role of digital in supporting system ambitions to 2031.
DLN notes a “decisive shift” from traditional commissioning to a “should cost/should deliver” model with focuses on the three shifts toward prevention, care closer to home, and digital. “Strengthened data, intelligence, and digital innovation will underpin this more mature population health management approach, enabling targeted action to improve outcomes and reduce inequalities,” it states.
High-level focuses include the provision of remote monitoring and virtual care options, the use of population health data to target support, joined-up information across partners to support care, and modern digital access routes such as the NHS App. Digital and data systems and approaches will be modernised, it continues, and headline deliverables cover the shared care record, NHS App, Federated Data Platform, and AI and automation.
Digital enablement, self-help mechanisms, and virtual appointments will reportedly help toward the ICBs’ delivery targets of reducing total 1st outpatient acute activity by 25 percent; total acute follow-ups and <90 day emergency readmissions by 25 percent; non-elective admissions by 36 percent; occupied bed days by 10 percent; and ED attendance by 33 percent.
By 2031, all referrals will be made using standardised digital referral systems, reducing paper referrals by 25 percent, DLN shares. Primary care providers use of technology for digital triage and ambient voice will have been optimised, digital maturity and resilience will be improved system-wide, and interoperable health records and shared care records will have been embedded with >90 percent of GP practices sharing records with neighbourhood teams and >75 percent of health, local government and VCSE connected.
Digital referral, triage, and advice systems will have been embedded, the ICBs continue, whilst “clinically meaningful” dashboards and performance intelligence will be in routine use by leaders and those on the frontline. Digital capability will be built into neighbourhood and place-based working, and 80 percent of neighbourhoods will have a delivery plan for digital inclusion.
Transformation will be accelerated through innovation, according to DLN, with new models of care, digital solutions, and transformational approaches to be readily tested and scaled. Here, the ICBs note that they will “balance ambition with assurance” to enable innovation and deliver measurable impact, resulting in faster transformation, improved productivity, and more responsive services for communities.
Wider trend: Collaborations, mergers, and joint strategies from across the NHS
In a strategic case for the merger of Cambridgeshire Community Services (CCS) and Norfolk Community Health and Care (NCHC) trusts, plans for digital and data integration and the anticipated benefits of combined digital capabilities, have been outlined. “The success of the proposed merger and delivery of the expected benefits depends in large measure on getting digital and data integration right,” the boards consider. A new CIO has been recruited to help bring together the two trust’s digital teams, with the boards committing to a “digital-first” approach to improving quality of care, safety, and financial efficiency. Clinical aims will be supported by digital and technology, including remote monitoring of long-term conditions, virtual clinic appointments, and virtual wards.
South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust and George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust boards have discussed their shared EPR programme, noting a go live of October 2026, the need to progress at pace, and highlighting the potential costs if the programme delays. EPR localisation sessions are underway to review the current EPR system and workflows with a view to assessing impact on trust processes, as well as potential clinical and operational risks. A mitigation plan has also been agreed, with Oracle Health and Innovate leads reviewing workflows, and a localisation tracker being shared with UHCW to identify areas requiring their input.
West and North London (WNL) ICB has shared its strategy development, covering plans for digital-first and community pathways, digital infrastructure, interoperability and real-time data, and integrated teams. A joint ICT merger delivery group has been established across the two ICBs, and is said to already be making “positive progress” through December and January. Aims are to enable the sharing of files seamlessly across the ICBs, enabling collaborative work on projects, and forming a single email domain. The team will be working to enable all staff to work from any location across the two sites, and to “run future IT procurement strategically, with a view to standardising contracts as and when the existing contracts expire”. Both ICBs are now reported to be undertaking the Data Security Protection Toolkit process early, to ensure data security.
