NHS Archives

NHS data effectiveness planning in the real world

Posted on: 7 May 2024

Let’s talk about what really happens when an NHS Trust initiates a data transformation project, including key factors that determine success

How can NHS Trusts and ICS access the much-discussed potential of their data within the real-world environment of a complex, large-scale, over-stretched, pressurised, life-saving organisation?

Enthusiasm about the power of data is widespread and many leaders and managers have glimpsed a vision of how their organisation and function could transform its planning and service delivery with leading-edge insight. They know the possibility is real, because in their Trust, there are certain highly evolved functions, datasets and systems that form an aspirational benchmark. But in reality, rolling out this best practice consistently, to create an ultimately system-wide transformation, is daunting.

We don’t have easy answers or a silver bullet approach. Every NHS organisation is sophisticated and complicated – optimising data effectiveness demands rigorous focus and a commitment of resources. But we do have best practice examples of successful readiness projects we’ve worked on with NHS Trusts, helping them take the most efficient and cost-effective route to data transformation.

We reached a point where we knew we had to make changes in our technology for future scaling. We had to look not only at the commercials with our existing technology, but at our all-encompassing technology. (NHS Trust Informatics Leader)

One NHS Trust recently asked CACI to help them develop a comprehensive readiness package for a major data migration. The Trust’s situation was typical, with constantly evolving technology and a wide range of users with different levels of capability and understanding. There were acknowledged weaknesses in understanding fast-changing tools and technologies – the Informatics team had identified the value of engaging a trusted partner to help bridge any knowledge gaps.

Adopting a user-centred approach was key. The Informatics lead was determined to do the right thing for the organisation and knew the value of a focused piece of user engagement that would allow everyone to be heard and have confidence that their concerns were understood and included in the output.

Trust and openness are key to an effective readiness project. Whether you conduct it internally or using an expert third party partner, it’s important that everyone feels comfortable discussing how existing products and services are working in practice. External specialists can bring objectivity to the process, defusing possible defensiveness or concerns about confidentiality by using and explaining a transparent and proven methodology designed to achieve the end goal of better data insight for everyone.

It’s one thing to catalogue data queries and requirements as users express them, but to deliver an effective new solution, Trusts must understand the underlying rationale and how data is supporting critical processes and decisions. Our experts were able to explore and question effectively, so different users’ experiences were fully understood in an organisational context.

A third party like CACI has unique capability to discern what the underlying requirements might be for a successful transition and elevation in technology. Our relationship feels grounded in practicality and addressing real problems. (NHS Trust Informatics Leader)

For this project, CACI’s Healthcare Insight consultants first analysed the Trust’s existing reporting outputs and infrastructure, to gain a comprehensive view of its architecture. They engaged with internal and external data analytics stakeholders to understand their needs and preferences and to assess the board’s strategic data and reporting priorities.

The output was a detailed report of all quantitative and qualitative findings. From this, the Trust gained new understanding of their existing functions and capabilities and the changes required to succeed in the future.

The next step was to align with the Trust’s data strategy and produce a blueprint for the future, outlining new data architecture, data governance, licensing requirements and enablement. This evidence-based blueprint, compiled by trusted and experienced experts, made it possible for the Trust to create a compelling business case for change. It was a major accomplishment for the Trust’s informatics team that the capital case was approved faster than ever before, taking just ten days.

By approaching this in the way that we have, we’ve overturned a common assumption in the public sector and NHS – that it’s hard to get things done. Actually, with a clear vision and exceptionally good outputs, we’ve been able to move at a pace that’s not normally expected in an NHS setting. (NHS Trust Informatics Leader)

As external CACI healthcare consultants, we have a privileged viewpoint, because we work with a range of NHS Trusts and can identify common challenges, barriers and imperatives. By applying this insight, we help NHS leaders access a system-wide perspective that can make a big difference in achieving their data effectiveness goals.

Get the full picture with our Data Effectiveness white paper

In this blog, we’ve shared an example of our user-centred NHS data effectiveness approach in practice. If you’d like to know more about the rationale and how it’s evolved, as well as how it’s designed to tackle key issues in the complex NHS environment, we’d love you to read our white paper. Download it free now.

If you’re ready to start a conversation about how our data effectiveness experience could help your organisation please get in touch with Susan Brooks in CACI’s NHS team.

Ready, set, go! Making change happen in the NHS data ecosystem

Posted on: 29 April 2024

Discover a proven and efficient approach to preparation and planning that paves the way to meaningful data transformation for NHS Trusts

It’s widely recognised in the NHS that harnessing data effectively holds the key to understanding and improving performance. When Trusts and ICS can gather and analyse a full and accurate range of patient and service data, they can better understand and anticipate patient needs and can shape service provision and manage capacity to enhance outcomes for patients.

The will is there to make this happen, amongst managers and clinicians. But the scale and complexity of NHS organisations and their data universe makes it difficult to make meaningful progress. Somehow, NHS leaders need to find a way to understand the dauntingly dense web of data, processes, requirements and systems in their Trust and form a workable plan of action that moves the entire organisation forward.

In your NHS organisation, some functions, datasets and systems may be highly evolved. You may regard them as an aspirational benchmark for the whole organisation. But in reality, rolling out this best practice consistently, within a fully connected data ecosystem, is daunting.

Working hands-on with NHS Trusts, the CACI Health Insights team has evolved an approach that empowers leaders to crystallise their current data reality and desired future state, so that pragmatic action planning is possible. We call this approach Ready, Set, Go. Structured preparation and discovery form a foundation for realistic planning and delivery of priority data effectiveness projects, ensuring synergy between projects and constant progression towards a single, system-wide goal.

The three stages of data transformation

1. Ready…

Readiness is the foundational phase of the approach. This means understanding and documenting current reality, then focusing on stakeholder engagement. Once stakeholders are on-side, you can work with them to define their requirements. Clearly setting out the planned benefits of change and (making sure that there are no unintended side-effects for other stakeholders) brings everyone to a clear vision of the desired future state. During the readiness phase, you’ll also establish standards and processes for quality assurance and governance.

2. Set…

Now that you understand the whole context and have determined the key projects to address, you can lay the foundations for data success by initiating transformation activities. It’s important to set timeframes and allocate resources across the entire transformation programme, so your delivery projects are realistically achievable in harmony rather than competing with each other. You may need to iterate the phasing so that the entire plan of discrete, connected projects is robust. Progressing at pace is key, so stakeholders can see and experience improvements at tangible milestones, but the schedule must be realistic, taking account of available internal and external staff with the right skills, and making sure that vital NHS activities are not hindered or disrupted.

3. Go…

As data transformation projects are completed, you move into a development phase. This means optimising data effectiveness by building the structures and outputs you need to extract ever-increasing benefit and insight for improved outcomes. Targeted learning and development sessions in all functions will enable data users to build their expertise in critical business practices. For ongoing management, you’ll need to use internal or external data experts in a cost-effective way, to maintain, optimise and continually enhance your data, so you can keep pace with new demands and opportunities to improve patient outcomes.

Stepping into the future of effective NHS data

The aspiration for every Trust is a single, complete data platform and analytics solution, providing accurate and consistently formatted data. Following the Ready, Set, Go approach, you can map a path towards seamless provision of historic, real-time and projected data. This will include strong and effective governance for sharing data securely, plus well controlled and monitored access to data for different users.

In the Readiness phase, mapping user requirements reveals the priorities with the greatest potential to transform efficiency and outcomes. In our experience, one of these is provision of self-service analytics and reporting tools that are both powerful and easy to use. By planning your data transformation project to deliver this, you can empower different people, teams and functions to create and tailor queries and reports, regularly and on demand. This cuts down reporting bottlenecks and reduces the pressure on under-resourced analyst teams.

When actionable reports can easily be tailored to the recipient and audience need and level of understanding, with meaningful visualisations and comparisons, you will be able to unlock the full, democratic power and impact of your data to inform strategic and clinical decision-making that improves your most vital NHS performance measures. Adopting the Ready, Set, Go approach can put this transformative outcome within your grasp.

Get the full picture with our Data Effectiveness white paper

For more context about the challenge of unlocking data effectiveness in NHS organisations, our white paper has further detail and examples of how our user-centred approach to defining data transformation priorities can work in practice. Download it free now.

If you’re ready to start a conversation about how our data effectiveness experience could help your organisation, please get in touch with Susan Brooks in CACI’s NHS team.

A practical approach to solving the NHS data conundrum

Posted on: 19 April 2024

To understand why your NHS organisation is data-rich but insight-poor, you need a system-wide perspective as a basis for structured change

The potential of NHS data is exciting. It’s also accessible – there are proven examples of effective and constructive data use that provide valuable reporting and insight for clinical service development. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

NHS leaders know that NHS data within and outside their organisation is infinite, complex and continually collected. It’s very powerful when it’s analysed effectively, so the insight can be channelled to the right person in a way that they can understand and use. However, for the most part, this doesn’t happen enough.

Managers and analysts work hard every day to try and generate the insight that’s so desperately needed. They’re typically thwarted by scarce resources, time, understanding, technology and specialist skill. There’s often a lack of consistency, momentum and sponsorship across the system and organisation.

This holds back ICS, Trusts, teams and individuals from delivering the best service to patients and optimising their strategy, resources and operational plans.

NHS leaders know that they need to crack the data conundrum, but it’s a tall order without taking focus away from daily priorities

In such a complex and busy environment, it’s hard for any individual to grasp the system-wide position. There’s rarely time or opportunity to step back to survey the scene across an organisation or connected entities.

Current challenges for NHS data

There’s a massive volume of complex, constantly changing data
It’s held in many data sources and repositories
There are many users with diverse requirements
These users have widely different levels of data literacy and expertise
Trusts rely on a mix of modern and legacy systems and tools
Some departments have enjoyed greater investment than others
There are crucial governance issues, including patient privacy and data security

Identifying these top-line issues and how they are affecting service planning and delivery in your unique organisation is a key first step. There’s a clear need to approach the problem holistically. But squeezed budgets, limited resources and a lack of time stand in the way of major, system-wide projects. Everyone in the tightly stretched NHS is busy dealing with current workload already. There’s no appetite for launching an amorphous, resource-hungry transformation programme. Trusts need a structured, thorough and efficient approach to identify issues in a finite timeframe.

A practical approach to inclusive, system-wide data effectiveness

Traditionally, data transformation tends to mean adopting new products or technologies. The problem is that they only offer a tactical solution to one small part of the overarching data problem. Worse, they can sometimes aggravate issues in other parts of the system.

We observe that data architecture is at the core of system inadequacies for many NHS Trusts. Data feeds and flows are poorly constructed and insufficiently flexible to meet the diverse needs of those who work with data and need the insights generated from it.

Addressing the data challenge from a user perspective

Delivering effective data solutions and tools relies on a clear understanding of what users really need from the data. We have identified three communities with distinct requirements:

Executives and leaders who demand trusted insight and high-level views of data. They work with KPI scorecards and look for drill-down access to data from individual divisions, programmes and patients, so they can explore strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and anomalies in performance by understanding the data behind them. They need current, historic and comparative data views.

Clinical leaders who need real-time and trend insight to help them predict demand for services. They need detailed waiting list information and data tracking that can drill down to programmes, wards and treatment functions so they can understand and assess demand and response. They use this to optimise day-to-day activities as well as in planning future service developments.

Analysts responsible for tailored and specific report generation across different periods. They want the capability to select data for specific organisations and to deliver data in different formats and channels to meet the different requirements of their users. Their productivity and output depend on detailed, centralised data that’s accurate and easy to work with.

To unlock the potential of your data you need to engage with all senior stakeholders, including clinicians, to understand their priorities and how they are currently using data in practice. Finding the resources and capability needed to take an objective look can be challenging. Some Trusts have engaged us to deliver a short, consultative engagement to provide a clear overview, without committing to excessive spend or investment in products.

Get the full picture with our Data Effectiveness white paper

We’ve pulled together the key points of our approach in this blog, but if you have time for a longer read, our white paper has more detail and examples of how the user-centred approach to defining data transformation priorities can work in practice. Download it free now.

If you’re ready to start a conversation about how our data effectiveness experience could help your organisation please get in touch with Susan Brooks in CACI’s NHS team.

Why changing your costing solution is essential for improvement

Posted on: 12 February 2024

Every NHS organisation has a costing system. However, not all costing systems can keep up with the changing demands and increased digitalisation required from organisations to continue delivering exceptional patient level costing outcomes.

In our previous blog on the future of costing, we explored how ICBs can effectively prepare for upcoming costing changes and how they can cut costs no matter their level of digital maturity or data comprehension. Today, we’ll uncover why now is the time to change your costing solution with the help of CACI and the benefits of doing so.

So, is it time to share your PLICS data? Does your costing system give you the opportunity to share patient level costing information and data analytics that will help you make the best decisions both now and in the future?

Why our costing solution, Synergy, is different

Synergy, CACI’s patient level information costing solution (PLICS), is uniquely designed for the NHS and transforms costing teams’ capabilities by:

Freeing up valuable time to analyse crucial results. Synergy ensures the NHS costing process is streamlined by enabling cost allocation, review and visualisation at patient level easily.
Keeping you in control of improving patient outcomes. With Synergy, your organisation will gain more control over your data and costing model and augment your understanding of the patient pathway and costs in your organisation.
Increasing self-sufficiency. Synergy comes with a user-friendly system that is easy for all levels within your costing team to use, promoting self-sufficiency.
Empowering stakeholder & ICS member collaboration through enhanced data sharing and revolutionised decision-making. Your organisation will gain access to class leading analytics that are produced by our in-house experts to promote benchmarking and streamline data sharing to ensure your costing team meets deadlines on time and on budget.
Redefining data reporting and sharing capabilities through distinct architecture. Synergy is a one-of-a-kind costing solution with its composition including a Data Mart layer, setting itself apart from traditional costing solutions by supplying users with total access to all of the data within their costing system and boundless data sharing both within the organisation and to external partners.

Why it’s time to change your costing solution to Synergy

Transitioning from your costing solution to Synergy is simple. No IT skills are needed for set-up, and it can be easily and securely deployed in an HSCN connected data centre within a matter of weeks. You will be part of a highly engaged user community that meet regularly to share best practices and insights on product development.

How CACI can help you migrate costing solutions

CACI works with costing teams across the UK to help them gain a deeper understanding of their patient pathways and costs and make decisions that improve patient outcomes. If you’d like to find out more about changing your costing solution to Synergy, please contact one of our experts, Susan Brooks.

Read the first blog in our future of costing series here.

How do ICBs successfully prepare for future changes in costing?

Posted on: 27 November 2023

Integrated care boards (ICBs) were born to bring the NHS together locally to improve population health and establish and achieve shared strategic priorities. Although ICBs are vital to the future delivery and improvement of healthcare systems, their introduction has not been without hurdles.

Earlier this year, NHS England challenged ICBs to reduce their running costs by at least 20% in 2024/25 and 30% by 2025/26. This comes with heightened challenges of digital and data not being prioritised at board level in most areas, with only 38% of ICBs having an Executive Director focused on digital, data or intelligence.

With fast-approaching deadlines to meet, what can ICBs do to cut costs no matter the comprehension level of digital or data?

Where can ICBs make savings?

Reallocating & distributing funding

To supply optimal patient level care, ICBs must be equipped with an optimal patient level costing solution. Now more than ever, it is critical for ICBs to work with NHS providers to create a single view of population and personal health and collect and utilise high-quality data to drive cost efficiencies. ICS leaders remain concerned about funding available for patient treatments and recognise that this is essential to uphold the sector’s productivity. NHS funding has always been focused on treating single acute illnesses and single chronic conditions or injuries rather than preventing them. It is now more focused on treating the whole patient and considering the prevention agenda.

To direct patient treatment funding to the most effective setting, ICBs must innately understand the cost of each patient pathway across all settings in the system.

Organising critical data for optimal use

When it comes to organising critical data, it is integral that ICBs have a strong working relationship with local governments, providers and the VCFSE sector to faciliate this. A framework of data sharing standards should also be developed to achieve enhanced interoperability and data sharing across organisational barriers to further encourage cost efficiencies.

Third-party support to meet priorities and achieve strategic objectives

ICBs unite stakeholders across the healthcare sector to address immediate and long-term priorities and challenges to improve health outcomes. Effectively addressing this requires ICBs to enhance their self-sufficiency and self-improving systems by working with the NHS and third-party partners to develop robust shareable models and fine-tune skills locally. Considering this, ICB leaders are continuously seeking out new opportunities ways to leverage system providers’ skillsets and contributions, and remain positive about system providers’ commitment and contribution. Increased self-sufficiency and self-improvement will also free up NHS funding for ICBs to better address priorities and challenges.

Data sharing

While ICSs exist because of collaboration and partnerships between their providers, sharing usable data between the providers isn’t straightforward. If ICBs could safely and securely share data, connect data and run true system data analysis from required data sources, they would be able to accelerate their work in various activities from improving patient and staff care and outcomes to optimising the productivity of the wider health and care system at cost.

Delivering training & knowledge sharing opportunities

ICBs have been strongly encouraged to enhance their existing peer review processes to allow for inter-ICS benchmarking, best practice sharing and accountability strengthening to drive cost efficiencies. NHS Trust leaders have felt incredibly positive about ICBs’ role in fostering a sense of shared responsibility and collective endeavour among system partners, their collective problem-solving abilities and their sharing of practices on patient care and outcomes are key to future system and healthcare improvements.

Making the future of costings successful with CACI

Although the journey towards cost efficiencies for ICBs undoubtedly comes with hurdles to jump, CACI’s expert team are equipped with the necessary industry knowledge and experience in data transformation to support and enable a revolutionary journey to a successful SMART result.

To find out how we can help prepare your ICB for a successful journey, please contact one of our experts, Susan Brooks.