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We have seen a step change in NHS organisations working together to bring about change at scale, with the aim to improve the health and wellbeing of people that live and work in their area.
The group model approach for NHS Trusts is just one of the ways that we starting to hear more and more about. This terminology is specific to the NHS in the UK but similar models operate in other parts of the world.
This cross organisation working highlights a firm commitment to NHS organisations working collaboratively to overcome health challenges and ensure a clinical and financially sustainable future to meet continuing rising demands.
In most places, Trusts working together isn’t a new initiative, but formalising partnerships to pool resources, avoid duplication and simplify systems is more common practice now. The group model promotes sharing of expertise and the development of new opportunities with a clear emphasis on transformation and quality improvement.
The Group model allows NHS organisations to:
- Learn from one another by accessing a broader pool of knowledge and experiences
2. Share assets, resources and talent at scale, thereby reducing duplication and waste; and
3. Align strategically, such that all organisations are working together toward a common goal.
Using Life QI to support the group model approach
The use of Life QI accelerates improvement work.
Bringing together people and organisations, Life QI has provided the solid foundation for so many improvement initiatives to date and NHS group models are one of those that we continue to be very proud to support.
Providing a central home and approach to QI facilitates the sharing of knowledge and improvements across the Group, and also allows for a more collaborative approach to improvement work. Boasting innovative features to support group work, Life QI enables organisations to share and track the impact of quality improvement and key themes of work taking place.
Organisations that are in a group model can be set up so that staff from each organisation can view and work together on projects and programmes in real-time. The use of groups, tags and priorities in Life QI provides a robust way to track project alignment with overarching objectives, and in turn populate shared dashboards that are immensely powerful data presentation tools.
Having dynamic oversight of QI projects allows teams at all levels to understand the wider impact of their work. It also promotes senior leadership to look at key themes and areas of interest to ensure that resources are deployed effectively and efficiently.
Examples of NHS Groups Models using Life QI
A few examples of this model that we are supporting include:
The University Hospitals of Northamptonshire Group
Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Alan Burn, Joint Chairman said: “We need to ensure that both Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals are clinically and financially sustainable and are able to meet the rising demands created by population growth. Working together as acute Trusts, and with our other partners, is the way to do this.
“Both trusts have been working together over the past few years and both trust boards now feel it is time to signal our firm intention to collaborate by moving to a group management model covering both organisations.”
Leicestershire Partnership and Northampton Healthcare Group
Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust and Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundations Trust
David Williams, Group Director of Strategy & Partnerships, said: “We knew there would only be nine successful innovators, applying as a group has meant we have secured support for LPT, NHFT and our systems. Our chance of success would have been lower if we hadn’t worked together. This is a great recognition of the strength of partnership working in LPT, in NHFT and with all our partners. It really recognises how far our organisations have come and how much we have achieved.
“The work we can do through this innovator approach will enable us to break down some of our local barriers to moving forward and will provide learning that can be replicated for many other systems.”
Read more about their approach here
Our Success Managers are supporting many NHS organisations with using Life QI to support their approaches. Please do get in touch with us if you would like to discuss your vision in more detail or for any advice and guidance from our team.
