Integrated health services, that work for people
The NHS has embraced a vision of integrated care. By bringing together GPs, community services, and hospitals, they hope to improve end-to-end care for patients while making the entire system more efficient. At the heart of this transformation lies integrated data—the foundation that makes joined-up care possible.
The real challenge for NHS trusts and Integrated Care Systems is investing these resources in ways that genuinely improve lives. Many digital projects falter because they miss what matters most: creating value for the people who use them. In healthcare, these users are dedicated clinicians who need to see meaningful benefits from adopting new systems and accessing wider patient data in their daily work.
As a design partner for Sussex Community Foundation Trust, we helped bring several vital digital initiatives to life, including system-wide integrated hospital discharge involving over 20 organisations, electronic patient records for community and frailty services, and virtual wards. This partnership contributed to SCFT winning CIO of the Year 2022 and Digital Organisation of the Year 2024.
As Diarmaid Crean, CIO of Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, wisely puts it: “Build technology that clinicians will actually want to use.”
|
Challenge
Hospital Discharge
|
Getting people home from hospital safely and promptly remains a critical priority for the NHS, both locally and nationally.
Improving hospital discharge is complex, touching many parts of the healthcare system. We identified a significant opportunity in how clinical teams share information with each other. By streamlining this process, we could improve staff satisfaction, enhance patient experiences, and create better flow through the system. Most importantly, patients could return home sooner, and substantial costs could be saved through more connected care between hospital and community trusts.
A single element of this strategy, a Transfer of Care hub, identified a £20m saving per annum.
|
Approach
Starting with the experiences of patients and staff to understand the real barriers and opportunities.
|
Service design created a collaborative space that united diverse perspectives. By grounding our research in the lived experiences of patients and staff, we brought a deeply human dimension to our solutions, capturing hopes, frustrations and ideas for positive change.
We visualised opportunities through service blueprints and future data flow scenarios between different organisations. Starting with two trusts as proof of concept, we expanded to a system-wide approach involving over 20 organisations across Sussex – a true ‘digital frontrunner’ project.
Working from these visual representations, we informed the future data architecture and identified opportunities to redesign the discharge process. Our recommendations extended beyond digital solutions to include strategic and operational improvements, highlighting other service areas that would benefit from this approach, such as Hospital at Home and Virtual Wards.
|
Outcome
Proof, models, capabilities – and value
|
This work gave the Sussex integrated care system a shared vision for improving discharge through more effective data sharing. It saved the information systems team valuable time, allowing them to implement solutions more quickly.
The service blueprints, data flows, and documentation we produced enabled the ICS team to develop a roadmap for implementing an integrated data-sharing environment between hospital and community services.
The benefits we identified included:
– Shorter hospital stays for patients
– Better resource management, with staff spending less time chasing information
– Greater staff satisfaction and wellbeing
– More timely and meaningful engagement with patients, improving their care experience
– A Transfer of Care hub alone identified potential savings of £20 million annually
Our work transformed concepts into real-world solutions that make a difference to patients and healthcare professionals across Sussex every day.
Related content
