Neighbourhood ways of working are incredibly prevalent in plans and strategies for the NHS over the next 10 years. Digital will play a vital role in enabling how these plans are realised, both in terms of operational delivery through infrastructure and in transformation initiatives. The Digital Transformation team at BOB ICB is addressing challenges neighbourhood teams are facing by working closely with colleagues to determine what they need now and in the future.
In the first instance, we commissioned user researchers from SCW CSU for a preliminary discovery project to help us understand the current lay of the land and the emerging needs neighbourhoods were facing. Two very strong ‘asks’ became apparent from this work – that neighbourhoods needed guidance on collaborative online platforms, and that data-driven segmentation and patient cohort identification would underpin strategic priorities. Colleagues within the ICB told us that data assurances were an additional concern, and this gave us our scope of work.
Our team has hosted an ICB-wide Digital Forum for three years, which offered us an engagement platform for the preliminary resources. Volunteers from general practices, primary care networks and GP Federations then went on to test the proof of concept of a Digital Leaders Academy to support transformation project managers and sense-checked the digital support resources collated to address administrative and data assurance challenges. We work closely with ICB colleagues representing each of the ICB Places to align the support offer to real-world needs.
Developing neighbourhood models is challenging in the current climate. Delivery plans have to align to numerous plans and strategies. There are several national offers of support that require bids for funding as well as roadmaps of support offers which are being delivered concurrently. Each place in BOB is at a different stage of their neighbourhood development journey and are navigating their own unique challenges. Competing priorities mean that our work has to be agile. With the launch of the NHS 10-Year Plan, the NHS Reforms and a restructure which had only come into effect at the start of 2025, our team and many others in the ICB have had to work at pace to adapt to a changing landscape. Colleagues within the ICB and those working in neighbourhoods have demonstrated utmost levels of determination to set in motion the work required to enable integrated neighbourhood teams to flourish, be it operational delivery or supporting the workforce to use digital tools.
I am confident that the resources we are developing and the work we are doing will be valuable to neighbourhoods, especially as they mature and our outreach can encompass wider support for neighbourhood partners. The insights from colleagues have been incredibly valuable and ensures that we understand what the real-world needs are and we tailor our support offer to them. This will result in a meaningful impact that standardises a minimum viable digital support offer which is not only feasible but desirable, evolving over time as our neighbourhoods develop and improve services for citizens across BOB.