MPFT Digital Strategy

We will reduce paper based operations and improve security and access through digitisation.

One of the Trust's service users summarised the impact of this; "Digital to me means that, if I need re-referral I know I’ve got help and support straight away. In my opinion this has helped prevent me from relapse in the long run."

A key statistic from our engagement indicates that 70% of our service leads are planning on redesigning their service offer with new pathways or business processes

We will put our service users and staff securely into contact with our systems and the information required.

During engagement we received many comments from staff on the importance of this, for example, Mark Poingdestre, the Regional Lead for Inclusion Substance Misuse Services commented "We have made digital technology essential so now we need to make it reliable."

A key statistic from our engagement found that 65% of people involved in our engagement thought the Trust's IT was too unreliable

We will make use of our data to inform care and decision making.

Helen Booth, Operational Manager, County Wide Speech and Language Therapy/ Occupational Therapy/Falls and Community Rehabilitation commented "We need information dashboards to manage caseloads. This information is needed on more clinically focussed dashboards to inform care on a daily basis."

A key statistic from our engagement was that 69% of staff had the available information to operationally run our services.

We will enable greater choice to empower service users and carers to make better decisions, and make it easier to interact with our services and access information about them. We will have easy to use, accessible and reliable systems and equipment, with flexible alternatives when digital is not suitable.

We will encourage better wellbeing, independent living and improve prevention for our people. We will have digitally enabled care pathways that offer clearer advice and guidance for how to access online health promotion, self-management support materials, e-therapeutic platforms, community service sign-posting, self-assessment services, self-referral options and wellbeing apps.

We will make sure our new digital ways of working do not create extra difficulties for people. Everyone who needs it will be offered assistance, so they are able to take advantage of digital where it is suitable. We will tailor our services based upon people’s digital preferences for communication, their capability, accessibility and individual needs including protected characteristics.

We will ensure all our buildings are compliant, effective, and exceed the expectations of all users. Our estates will be eco-friendly, easy to get around through digital signage, and wireless enabled for both entertainment and keeping in touch.

We will ensure people have the right education and skills to use the digital systems available to them. We will make sure that confidence and competence are not limiting factors when it comes to using digital technology for health and care. We will support service users to use systems with training sessions, guides and videos.

We will digitally enable our care pathways to be delivered remotely, with self-care and health monitoring options. Our community support services can be improved through greater use of digital to reduce the need to travel, increase independence, help people manage their conditions better and offer flexibility to our service users and carers.

Our staff need to have the right level of skills and confidence to use the devices and systems available to them. We will ensure the systems we use have training available, are accessible and inclusive.

We will make sure that our staff know about our digital systems, what the latest developments are and they receive news on the latest opportunities to collaborate.

There is power in data, and we will empower and inform our service users, staff and partners with the insights it provides. Our data reporting will progress from describing what has happened, to predicting improvements we want to happen for future priorities.

We will enable our staff to work from where they can provide the best care and be most productive. We need to provide collaborative office space, bookable hot desks and systems and equipment to allow people to work from home and in the community.

Engagement is vital to continually improve how we deliver our services, and we will make sure there are many ways for service users and carers to submit feedback to inform future improvements.

We will connect our service users and staff to reliable networks, devices and systems. We make sure all data is private and secure and used or shared safely for the purpose of care only.

Digitised care pathways are built by workflows that guide service users and staff through a process. Digital automation, alerting and tasks are critical to be efficient, using improved systems and removing our reliance on paper.

To provide our service users with the best possible care, we will work together with everyone involved in a person’s health or social care needs within localities described as ICSs, provider collaboratives and place based partnerships in the Health and Care Bill 2021. Our partners will have secure access to relevant information to support population health management and to reduce health inequalities.

Everyone is a part of developing how we use digital. We will collaborate with our service users, carers, staff, regional and national partners to provide enhanced and seamless care. Our suppliers are essential in co-designing the best ways to deliver benefits for our service users at best value.

1. Service users, staff and guests have reliable network access across Trust areas with the right device for the right purpose

2. Internal knowledge management system and chatbot to reduce time wasted seeking information

3. Plans created for community and remote care monitoring systems deployment

4. System performance and reliability is improved with cloud hosting and offline access to systems where possible

5. Easier access to service information and care advice, offering more choice through booking, self-referral and online forms

6. Digital skills guides, videos and mentoring captured in an accessible “digital toolkit”, with non-digital means of interacting with our services where it is needed

7. Efficiency and quality improvements through configuration of system workflow features, alerting, task allocation, automation processes

8. Secure access to care plans via the NHS App for service users and carers

9. Information dashboards and population health information analysis developed

10. Service user and carer feedback approaches and opportunities enhanced

• Improved quality of care - Service users and staff connected to better wireless

• Improved efficiency - Staff can find information faster using an internal knowledge base and chatbots

• Improved understanding of community needs - Plans created for remote care monitoring systems.

• Improved Performance and Reliability - Apps and systems are always available and accessible offline through a move to the cloud

• Improved choice and access - Websites updated with information, appointment bookings, self-referral and online forms

• Improved digital skills - An accessible “digital toolkit” on our website with guides, videos and training

• Improved staff efficiency - Paperless operations and digitised workflows including alerting and task allocation

• Improved access to care plans - Our systems are securely connected to apps, for example, NHS App, helping our service users access their care records

• Improved decision making - Information dashboards and population health analysis used across our services

• Improved service user voice - More methods of collecting and reporting service user feedback across our services

• Improved communications - Digital appointment letters and text messaging across our services with non digital options available

• Improved community care - Remote care including wearable technology and e-therapeutic apps

• Improved access to medicines - Service users can manage prescriptions electronically for faster access to medicines from supported pharmacies

• Improved speed and safety of prescribing - Our Electronic Prescribing Medicines Administration (EPMA) system will be deployed across our services

• Our service users and staff experience a NHS and social care that acts as one - Service user information follows their care journey

Our care pathways are not fully digitised

• Service users are referred in multiple ways
• It is not always clear where they are in their care pathway
• It is not always clear who to contact
• Information often needs to be repeated
• There are technical limitations preventing a single care plan

Our service users and staff experience a NHS and social care that acts as one, working in seamless partnership with 3rd sector colleagues across all care settings through the processes we digitise

Our services are connected across Integrated Care Systems through a secure integrated care record with up to date data including personal data, diagnosis, allergies, medicines and care plans.

Measured through systems adoption and service user, carer and staff feedback on the quality of care.

Our systems are not reliable enough and service users can’t connect to their care plans

• Limited deployment of offline mobile apps for service users and staff to update care records
• Remote care and physical observations systems are all in limited deployment
• Systems are not consistently configured to be always available

We connect our service users and staff to secure and reliable systems that are flexible, accessible and offer more choice in how care is accessed and delivered

Our systems are cyber secure and are configured to be accessible offline and always available for service users and staff.

Measured through systems adoption, penetration tests, digital maturity evaluations, outage reports, Data Security Protection Toolkit and feedback.

Our data is not visible enough to inform service users and staff

• There is no consistent information reporting system
• No operational dashboards in place displaying key information to empower service leads
• Service users and staff both report that they do not have sufficient information available to them

We inform our service users and staff through data that remains private and is used and shared for the purpose of health and social care only

Our workforce and service leads have descriptive and predictive data dashboards available to them. Our service users can track their own healthcare through information shared with them. Our region wide population health data is available.

Measured through systems adoption, reduced manual processes for data modelling and service user and workforce feedback.

Trust that we have the needs of service users as the ultimate priority in everything we do.

Trust that we are empathetic and take the time to talk and listen, to collaborate on problem solving and innovation, with a singular shared ambition to enhance care.

This trust will be backed by open communication, a service that is honest, humble and authentic.

Ensuring a responsive approach across all transformation schemes, service delivery processes and ongoing service user and staff engagement.

Technology will be co-designed and implemented that is secure, safe and effective.

We will adapt to change, ensuring appropriate governance and decision-making supports transformation and does not hinder it.

We will take the time to understand our service processes and what our service users experience first-hand in their care journey.

We will understand how our systems are accessed and used and where digital systems, processes and information can improve that experience.

Through meaningful service user and staff engagement and harnessing the use of data and information we will improve our understanding to make sure decisions are evidence-based.

We will support adoption of our systems and improve their reliability, security and usability.

We will help develop digital confidence in service users, carers and staff and increase ability to use the digital systems, pathways and processes we co-design and implement together.

Quality is also key, we will have the same seamless digital experience from our personal lives with the NHS security and service support that is essential to ensure data safety and personal privacy.

From the equipment that is used by staff to the collaboration platforms, systems, information dashboards, servers, networks and wireless we rely upon to deliver our care services.

We will tackle digital inequality, looking to provide technology for service users and staff that may not have the personal means of access to use devices and technology for their care.