Delivering value through digital with Channel 3

Making

How can ICSs deliver more value with digital – at scale and at pace?

With the NHS and social care facing unprecedented pressures, traditional approaches to cost improvement and performance management won’t be enough to meet the challenge of reducing in-year costs while at the same time reducing waiting times, improving outcomes and right-sizing the workforce.

To meet the challenge, we need to also unlock the full potential of investments in digital to deliver financial, clinical and operational value across all parts of an ICS.

It’s time to expect more from digital. More financial, clinical and operational value.

More return on investment by joining up services and optimising systems.

And, most importantly, more benefits for the workforce and the people they serve.

At Channel 3, we’re helping health and care organisations identify and implement new opportunities to deliver more value through digital. With our support, they’re releasing in-year financial savings, improving outcomes and making strong progress on the 2023/24 Operating Framework requirements and the NHS Impact priority improvements.

Want to learn more? Please read on for the basics of how we do it and examples of the value we’ve helped our clients deliver. If you think your ICS or organisation would benefit from a similar approach, we’d love to meet to discuss.

What has delivering value through digital meant for some of our clients?

Financial value

Clinical value

Operational value

100% increase in triage capacity

Up to £15m savings

96% of rapid response patients seen within 24hrs

Our approach at a glance

Assess where you

are

We start with a structured, focussed assessment

Identify opportunities

We then help identify and quantify opportunities to save money and improve performance

What tech do you already have?

How well are you using it to improve performance?

Could it be more cost effective?

What more could you achieve?

Immediate cash-releasing savings

Examples include:

• Consolidate foundational architecture across the ICS

• Review potential to restructure IT service management and governance

• Rationalise digital technology contracts

Deliver value

We work with your team to turn theory into action and deliver tangible value

Financial value

Examples include:

• Reduced digital spend

• Lower pay costs, including reduced bank and agency spend

• Reduced non-pay costs

• Improved estate utilisation

Workforce efficiency

Examples include:

• Redesign EPR configuration to support more efficient working

• Integrate voice recognition within workflows

• Scale digital automation of processes

• Develop a health and social care coordination hub

Clinical value

Examples include:

• Pathway standardisation

• Reduced duplication of effort

• Improved decision making through better clinical data

• Better clinical outcomes

• More time to care

Operational and performance improvement

Examples include:

• Increase hospital-at-home care by scaling virtual wards

• Build ‘by exception’ virtual care service models for long-term conditions

• Integrate digital point-of-care testing

Operational value

Examples include:

• Increased capacity and flow through digitally-enabled pathways

• Reduced/redirected demand through new care models

• Care closer to home through systemwide collaborative working

• Increased resilience and lower risk

Case study 1: Supporting Devon ICS to deliver tangible improvements and savings

Devon ICS asked Channel 3 to help build a clear plan for making the most of their existing and planned digital investments. They needed near-term savings opportunities and a roadmap for realising strategic clinical, operational and financial benefits.

In just eight weeks, the joint Devon/Channel 3 team identified multiple tactical opportunities and built a longer-term plan for overall digital asset optimisation.

Case study 2: Supporting Derbyshire to improve workforce efficiency for nursing and therapies

Channel 3 supported the community nursing team at Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS FT to create new care models for rapid response and routine care by optimising their existing EPR technology. We helped frontline staff design new digitallyenabled processes so they could deliver faster, more responsive care.

Working in a blended trust/Channel 3 team, we:

• Created new demand management processes to improve workforce utilisation.

• Used digital and data to join up services across eight localities, enabling clinicians to assign team tasks based on proximity, speciality and patient need.

• Reconfigured the existing EPR to enable the changes and then trained the clinical and operational teams to give them confidence in the new processes and digital tools.

We’re exceptionally proud of the results the trust achieved:

“With Channel 3’s support, we’ve developed clear plans for maximising the return on our existing digital investments to improve patient outcomes, support our workforce and drive up overall performance – all while making significant savings toward our financial targets.

“By combining Channel 3’s deep digital insight with the NHS’s experience of recovery and improvement, we’re achieving impact at scale and pace.”

Bill Shields, CFO and Deputy CEO at NHS Devon ICB

“Channel 3 truly shared our objectives and became completely embedded in the team. We immediately recognised the value they added. I can think of little to nothing they could have improved in their approach to our optimisation project.”

Adam Short, Operational Development Manager, Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS FT