Greater Manchester ICB has launched its five-year strategic commissioning plan to 2031, with the three shifts to digital, community, and prevention embedded into a number of priority areas. A new digital strategy is to be published in January 2027 to build the digital capability to enable its objectives, it explains, going on to detail the role of digital and innovation in the delivery of future care in the region.
“In practice, this means changing what we measure, what we fund, what we contract for and what we expect from providers and partners,” GM states. “It also means increasing the share of investment that supports prevention, neighbourhood care, VCFSE delivery and community capacity, rather than relying predominantly on reactive and hospital-based responses.”
Delivering the plan will require “transformational change at a significant pace and scale”, the ICB notes, including a step change in culture, leadership, and collaboration; in digital analytics, finance, and contracting; and in creating the conditions for change across the system.
Integrated neighbourhood teams will be supported by digital tools and empowered to deliver proactive care across organisational boundaries, GM continues. This will also rely on the interoperability of digital systems, shared records, and real-time data. A partnership with Health Innovation Manchester will play a key role in the spread and scale of innovation, and in the use of digital and AI to transform care delivery.
Every person with a long-term condition will have access to their own digitally accessible care plan, citizens and providers will be empowered with digitally-enabled primary care, and improvements in digital maturity will mean all teams can work efficiently and connect remotely.
For outpatients, GM shares work around the expansion of specialist advice and commissioning community services in ENT and gynaecology. A regional programme of work is supporting the elective single point of access roll out through the development of GM pathways, it says, focusing on two conditions along with cardiology and gastroenterology, where potential for virtual diagnostic and advice pathways is considered to be highest.
In 2026/27, focus areas include implementing single point of access in priority specialties, expanding community pathways, and embedding digital and clinical validation, with an expected patient treatment list reduction and expected outcomes of 67 percent RTT. By 2027/28, single point of access will be expanded to cover all high-volume specialties, a new MSK model will be introduced, and community capacity will be increased, with “significant” PTL reduction and RTT of 70-75 percent.
A digital referral management system, a fully mature community pathway model, and full GIRFT compliant hub utilisation will help contribute to GM reaching a sustainable range for PTL in 2028/29, with RTT at 80-85 percent, the ICB goes on. Beyond this point the emphasis will be on achieving the constitutional standard in 2029/30 with delivery of 92 percent RTT and load levelling, capacity optimisation, and hub capacity flex helping to maintain performance. By 2030/31, this will shift to sustaining and optimising to promote stable RTT, with a long-term sustainable delivery model and continuous improvement methodology embedded across all partners.
On digital and innovation, the ICB shares: “Greater Manchester is entering a decisive phase for digital transformation and innovation in health and care. National reform, financial pressure and rising population need are converging with rapid advances in data, digital and AI technologies.” Work will continue to evolve the region’s foundational digital assets, such as the GM Care Record and the Secure Data Environment, focusing on usability and value creation to ensure these support clinical decision-making, productivity, and system improvement, it continues. AI will be deployed to optimise pathways, reduce unwarranted variation, and support clinical and operational productivity, with future intentions to explore opportunities for Agentic AI to improve the speed and quality of commissioning intelligence.
A new digital strategy will be launched in January 2027 to align with the strategic commissioning plan, the ICB highlights, looking to build digital capability that “directly enables” the delivery of the objectives it sets out. “We need to move away from seeing digital as a support function – it must become a core commissioning lever for integrated care, prevention, and neighbourhood models,” it adds.
Wider trend: ICB digital transformation
Cheshire and Merseyside ICB has published its primary care action plan, setting out a roadmap for key digital programmes and priorities across the region. Rolling out digital triage and online consultations will continue and ambient voice technology will be piloted in selected practices as part of a system-wide trial, the ICB states. By the end of 2026/27, the board expects to have realised a “demonstrable reduction” in clinician admin burden, and an improvement in the quality and consistency of consultation notes. It also hopes to achieve associated improvements in clinician experience and patient-facing time.
Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB has set out its ambitions for a unified EPR, digital front door, and virtual command centre, with an aim to halve the time lost to clinical systems administration by 2032 and improve flow across the system. In its clinical strategy for 2026/27 to 2031/32, the ICB highlights its costs are “around six pence in every pound above peer averages”, noting: “We must unlock the ‘trapped value’ in our system by aligning improvement, transformation and digital programmes — and by embedding a more commercial and innovation-focused mindset.” Data, digital, and technology will be harnessed to drive system efficiency, it continues, with the aim of realising benefits by 2030 from tech advancements such as intelligent hospital capabilities, process automation, and digital pathway optimisation.
In the latest edition of our HTN ICB Region Series, we took a deep dive into what’s happening with digital and data across the North East and Yorkshire region. Along the way, we explored pilots and innovations, strategies, case studies, and insights from the sector.
