ICT – strategic services and infrastructure support

Developing and implementing a local digital strategy

We have extensive experience of developing digital strategies for individual customer organisations and health economies, both independently and in conjunction with our panel of expert partners.

We have carried out operations-led assignments, encompassing clinical and corporate functions, to create entirely new digital strategies, as well as updating existing ones, including local digital roadmaps (LDRs).

We provide, commission and partner to supply and deliver IT services to our range of customers across multiple healthcare settings. We have also effectively mobilised local digital strategies at speed.

We commence any digital strategy development work by understanding the STP plan, context and associated objectives and priorities. We have developed a robust five-phase approach based on our experience and industry best practice, covering:

• Start-up
• Analysis and insight
• Issue identification
• Development and presentation of future options
• Strategy development

In each case, it is critical to understand the service provisions of the STP first – the in-house capability, third party supplier capability and the role of other stakeholders. We help to determine the voice of the patient and customer through workshops and ongoing engagement.

For each assignment, we set a timetable with a clearly defined set of activities, deliverables and outcomes. We also have a remarkable track record in helping our customers to secure funding, with £47million brought in over the past three years to support customer programmes and projects.

We offer three main options on how IT services are provided in order to meet the variety of situational challenges presented by different authorities and geographies within an ICS area:

• Single provider – IT services are provided across the ICS footprint at scale
• Strategic provision across ICS – we help to provide strategic thought leadership to complement local delivery teams, usually within customer organisations
• Infrastructure provision across ICS – for example, management of a single network.

With our wider geographic footprint, we bring a breadth of experience in leading on, and contributing to, technical forums. This ensures that we take lessons learned from one customer, or group of customers, and share them with others, where appropriate.

An example of the breadth and effectiveness of our capability can be seen in Shropshire, where we have developed and implemented a digital strategy for the STP. This involved data gathering via workshops and surveys, writing a Local Digital Roadmap (approved by NHS England), securing development funding and implementing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and telehealth solutions.