System assurance

We are proud of our role in supporting organisations to initiate, adopt and sustain at-scale quality and cost improvement programmes.

We can support national networks of ICS/STPs to introduce and sustain the improvements required to meet the 10-15 per cent real-terms cost reduction target set by the NHS for April 2021. Our systems assurance expertise will help to maximise economies of scale and value for money, unlocking funds for investment in better care quality and technological advances.

We use a structured approach to identify improvement opportunities and motivate sustainable change, which can be summarised as follows:

• Engage and scope
• Insight
• Design and test
• Implement
• Monitor and sustain

Our approach is already delivering results. Our customers currently benefit from:

• 23 per cent efficiencies in the cost of our own operations over the past four years, with price reductions passed on to them
• More than 95 per cent achievement of their key performance indicators
• £13 million investment of our profit margin in the past three years to develop technologies and efficiencies in the wider health economies we serve
• Innovative services and technologies to improve outcomes and operating efficiencies through our supply chain.

We have previously undertaken a comprehensive work programme for NHS England to generate sustainable CCG cost improvements. Our review challenged existing Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) plans for twelve CCGs in the North West to ensure they were appropriate and robust.

This was followed by focused implementation support for seven CCGs, which has yielded over £6million recurrent savings, achieving an eleven-fold return on the £550,000 investment. Since then we have been promoting and rolling out transferrable opportunities to the whole health economy we serve, engaging health trusts, primary care providers, CCG management and clinical teams where appropriate.

We recognise the significant importance of helping ICS/STPs to become learning organisations, and regard investment in our staff as an essential foundation for this. We have a culture of continuous improvement and shared learning, which is central to helping ICS/STPs reach their organisational goals.