To mark our 5th anniversary Dr Sanjay Gautama, Clinical Informatics Lead for London, reflects on our joint achievements over the last five years, the lessons we have learned and our priorities for the future (30 May 2023).
Over the last five years we have made remarkable progress together through OneLondon. Our ultimate aim is to enhance healthcare outcomes and experiences for everyone in our vibrant city.
Here I want to celebrate our successes and discuss our priorities for the future. Our focus remains on improving patient care, promoting overall health, reducing costs, supporting healthcare providers, and ensuring data protection and privacy.
Our achievements
Connecting healthcare providers for better care: the London Care Record has successfully connected healthcare providers across the city enabling quick access to vital patient information, leading to improved coordination of care and informed decision-making, resulting in better patient outcomes.
Improved End-of-Life Care planning: thanks to our Universal Care Plan powered by Better, we have significantly enhanced end-of-life care planning helping to ensure seamless communication and coordination between healthcare providers and patients during this critical phase of life. Our goal is to honour patients’ wishes and provide them with the best possible care.
Empowering data-driven healthcare: our London Health Data Strategy sets a strong vision for effective data management and use. It allows responsible data sharing while safeguarding patient privacy and driving innovative research and advancements in healthcare. By harnessing the power of data, we can make informed decisions and continuously improve patient care.
Unlocking potential with innovative technologies: Pathfinders, Mobile First and the Federated Data Platform proofs of concept have showcased the potential of innovative technologies in healthcare. They demonstrate better integration, analysis, and sharing of data and provide valuable insights to enhance healthcare delivery and achieve positive outcomes and experiences for patients.
Advancements in patient care: the implementation of Ortus cardiac remote monitoring across London’s cardiac networks, Virtual Wards focusing mainly on respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and providing access to the London Care Record for care homes have brought significant advancements in patient care and management. They use technology to offer more efficient and personalised healthcare services, allowing patients to receive the care they need in the comfort of their own homes or care facilities.
Lessons Learned
Now, let’s looks at the challenges we have faced on our journey towards improving healthcare in London:
Enhancing data services: developing a robust infrastructure for seamless data management is a priority. This will ensure secure data sharing, transformation, and access, empowering healthcare providers with comprehensive and accurate information for improved care, planning, and research. However, setting up the right governance, technology, public engagement and sustainable funding is just as important as the technology.
Improving mental health care: digitising the Mental Health Act can help ensure that patients receive the best possible mental and physical health support and treatment through improved clinician visibility of the right information at the right time and place. Working together across the multiple organisations involved and securing sustainable funding across London is important to support this work
Scaling successful initiatives: scaling successful initiatives and securing long-term funding are vital. By expanding these initiatives and ensuring sustainable resources, we can maximise their benefits for all London residents.
Protecting data and privacy: continued focus on delivering the objectives outlined in the London Health Data Strategy is vital. This includes promoting responsible data sharing, protecting patient privacy, and enabling innovative research and development opportunities while maintaining robust data protection measures.
Future priorities
Moving forward, let’s outline our priorities for the future:
Strengthening the London Care Record: we prioritise optimising the information within the record and standardising data flows across London. This ensures healthcare providers can access and share patient information efficiently to improve care coordination and patient experiences.
Developing seamless data management: our aim is to build a robust infrastructure for seamless data management. This empowers healthcare providers with comprehensive and accurate information for improved care, planning, research, and development.
Creating a secure data-sharing platform: we strive to create a secure data-sharing platform between Integrated Care Systems. This fosters collaboration, supports data-driven decision-making, and enables better coordination of care, resulting in improved health outcomes.
Enhancing data integration and analytics: expanding the proof of concept for the Federated Data Platform is a priority. This platform enhances data interoperability, integration, and analytics, enabling healthcare providers to use data insights for continuous improvements in patient care and population health management.
Empowering patients with mobile access: we aim to implement a patient-centric Personal Health Record, allowing mobile access for patients to interact with the NHS. This empowers patients to access their health records, communicate with healthcare providers, and conveniently manage appointments through the NHS app.
Collaboration
In order to ensure our success, we are adopting a collaborative approach:
Streamlining NHS governance: we are actively working to streamline NHS governance structures at the national, regional, and Integrated Care Board levels. This ensures efficient decision-making, improved accountability, and a collaborative approach to healthcare planning and delivery.
Integrating clinical networks with digital and data strategies: our goal is to integrate clinical networks with digital and data strategies to enhance care delivery and maximise the value of data. This integration fosters collaboration between healthcare providers, enabling seamless information exchange and improving patient outcomes.
Supporting Integrated Care Systems and Boards: providing regulatory support to Integrated Care Systems is crucial for their success. Supporting strategy development, enhancing leadership capabilities, and advancing organisational maturity will enable Integrated Care Systems to deliver high-quality, integrated healthcare services.
Improving communication channels: we are committed to strengthening communication channels. Transparent and timely communication builds trust among stakeholders and encourages active participation, fostering a collaborative environment for our work.
In conclusion, OneLondon has achieved significant milestones in transforming healthcare services across London. By prioritising our future goals and fostering collaborative relationships, we can continue to build upon these successes and create a healthier, more connected community. Together, we are shaping the future of healthcare in London.
Dr Sanjay Gautama is Clinical Informatics Lead for London, Consultant Anaesthetist, Chief Clinical Information Officer and Caldicott Guardian for Imperial College Healthcare Trust NHS.
