Alexis Farrow, Programme Director, Digital Notts
Digital Notts ensures digital transformation is a key enabler to improving and evolving the health and care system across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
Watch our introduction video from Digital Notts Programme Director Alexis Farrow for a brief introduction and summary of our work last year.
Working with our system partners, we have continued to lead and deliver on a wide range of transformation projects, increasing efficiencies to make our NHS more sustainable for the future.
Through the delivery of these programmes, digital transformation efficiencies realised nearly £9 million from April 2024 to March 2025, releasing budget to be reinvested in patient services.
Our work is varied, and we know it is making a big difference for our citizens, our workforce in frontline care and across our system.
For example, our flagship programme, the Notts Care Record, combines health and social care data from across the ICS. As we make plans for rollout over the Summer, we know this new shared care record will:
Our new shared care record will enable cost savings of at least £4 million per annum, with the potential for more as new partners and users are onboarded.
We continue to lead on the use of the NHS App as the front door for our citizens to access and manage their own health and wellbeing. 60% of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire residents have downloaded the App. Last year over 1.1 million repeat prescriptions were processed digitally, easing pressure for Primary Care colleagues, making life easier for our patients and saving money and resource.
Use of the NHS App in secondary care continues to grow and deliver a more convenient service for patients alongside some excellent efficiency savings. This year, through our work with Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust (SFH) over 24% of hospital letters are now sent and read digitally through the App. Already it’s estimated this has saved over £131,000, money that can be reinvested into patient care. The NHS App has also had a positive impact on ‘Did Not Attends’, reducing missed appointments by 1.8% within the Trust.
We have continued to work hard to mitigate against digital exclusion and use digital technologies to support vulnerable residents. Over 500 (85%) of adult social care providers now use a digital social care record, exceeding the national target by 5%. Whilst the Digital Inclusion programme has supported over 6,000 people to get online (or access the NHS App) via our Digital Inclusion Co-ordinators, delivering 1,500 skills sessions over the year. And through our bespoke Health and Digital Literacy eLearning course, we’re ensuring our workforce has the right skills too with over 60 colleagues upskilled since its launch in Spring 2024.
Throughout this year, we have played a key role in the transformation work across our system, and this will continue as the NHS continues to evolve and be ready for the future.
Please take some time to read about our key achievements in more detail.
Digital Notts strives to ensure that our digital transformation programmes are people-centred rather than led by technology. It is important that we understand our communities to ensure that digital technology will make a real difference to people’s lives.
As well as specific research activity, partnering with local CVS organisations and feedback from care providers, our Citizens Digital Forum (CDF) helps us understand what matters the most to our citizens and local communities.
Meeting monthly and with representatives from a range of communities and localities, our Citizens Digital Forum has provided comment and feedback on all our programmes of work, including:
At the same time, members have also been involved in national activity such as the NHS App User Research panel, helping to shape the functionality of the App and the wider move from analogue to digital within the NHS.
As the move from analogue to digital continues throughout the NHS, we will continue to ensure that the patient voice is always heard through members of the Citizens Digital Forum.
Our Interoperability Programme focuses on improving electronic data sharing across our Integrated Care System (ICS). This Summer, our flagship programme, the Notts Care Record, will go live bringing benefits to both our workforce and our patients.
The Notts Care Record combines health and social care data from across our ICS. Data is mostly shared in real time, with the record accessible with a single click from users’ usual IT systems.
By the end of March 2025, we already had 750 users accessing the Notts Care Record each month. Early feedback from users shows that the record is insightful, user-friendly and easier to navigate than current systems.
Our next step is the transition of users from existing shared care records to the Notts Care Record. The current GP data viewer, the MIG, will be decommissioned at the end of September, and our current health and care portal will be turned off in November.
“Over the Summer, our partners will migrate over 5,000 users across 9 organisations to the Notts Care Record.”
Future benefits and impact across the system
Working with transformation colleagues across the ICS, we are already identifying areas where the Notts Care Record can save time and improve care. These include:
We anticipate more benefits will be realised as the number of individual users increase across our partners. We are working with users and ICB leads to develop new data sets, new partners and new functionality which align with our system’s priorities. Current in scope initiatives include maternity data sharing, hospital discharge planning, end-of-life care, and personalised care.
At the same time, potential financial savings continue to be identified. Using local evidence and case studies from across the country, the team have scoped the financial benefits of the Notts Care Record. Currently these are estimated to be at least £4m per annum, many of which are already realised. This has the potential to grow as new partners and users are onboarded.
Launching the Notts Care Record is a significant milestone for Digital Notts and our health and social care partners. We know it will make a difference to our teams and citizens.
can save time and improve care
The Public Facing Digital Services Programme aims to help patients take control of their own health and care using digital tools, supporting more convenient and efficient ways of providing health and care services.
“We ensure our work enables the delivery of system-wide transformation to improve patient outcomes and efficiencies for all our partners.”
During the past year, we have:
Increased new NHS App registrations to over 5,000 per month. 60% of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’s population can now take control and manage their own health and wellbeing digitally through the App.
Processed over 1.1 million repeat prescriptions through the App saving over 18,000 hours/13.65 whole time equivalent in admin staff time, equating to £434,000 in productivity savings per annum.
In partnership with Sherwood Forest Hospitals, more than 179,000 – over 25% – of hospital letters were read digitally via the NHS App during the past 12 months. In September 2024, clinical letters moved to digital-first delivery. This change enabled £131,000 of extra cost savings and a reduction of 7.85 tonnes of carbon per annum.
Digital letters have made a difference at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust too. The implementation of digital letters saved £294,000 last year, with more opportunities identified for 2025-2026.
Digital letters and engagement with our patient portal have also contributed to a 1.8% reduction in outpatient ‘Did Not Attends’ at SFH when compared to unregistered patients.
Other successes include the implementation of remote monitoring technologies, facilitating a ‘home first’ approach. This technology enables our residents to return to their own homes after a stay in hospital, rather than needing residential care or an interim pathway 2 bed.
We have also extended and increased the use of our Patient Engagement Portal (PEP) across Trusts. Integrated into the NHS App, this enables greater patient access to digital letters, digital appointments, and easy access to personal digital care plans.
There are over 4,000 new registrations to our system-wide PEP each month; over 22,000 of our residents proactively log into their patient held record each week. People are adding their personal healthcare information to their individual record, including symptom tracking, adding vital signs (e.g. blood pressure) as well as making journal notes to support their own health and care.
Recent national funding has enabled Nottinghamshire Healthcare Foundation Trust to join the system-wide PEP. With more local development and partners, our PEP makes joined up patient care a reality. It will give patients better access to their hospital test results and will facilitate further digital pre-op engagement and digital Patient Initiated Follow Up (PIFU) opportunities.
Our work in the community has continued throughout the year. We have launched localised NHS App campaigns working within specific PCN areas. These local activation campaigns support GP surgeries, their reception teams and their Patient Participation Groups to embed NHS App Digital Champions and increase App confidence for all.
We have also partnered with Community MSK/physio teams to introduce the use of digital care plans for their patients. This activity is continuing into Summer 2025 and beyond with further opportunities being identified.
control and manage their own health and wellbeing through the NHS App
prescriptions processed through the App
residents are using their Personal Health Record
The Digital Inclusion Programme focuses on ensuring individuals, particularly those from underserved communities, have the skills, access, and confidence needed to engage with digital healthcare services.
“Throughout 2024 and 2025, the programme has made significant strides in strategic growth and development, building on previous years successes.”
Digital inclusion publications from NHS England and the Government (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) have shaped policy and conversations at a national level. These national activities and plans validated our approach. They played a crucial role in supporting and strengthening our progress at a local level, as digital inclusion transitioned into its own programme of work. This enabled strategic discussions on improving digital inclusion across the system through the monthly Digital Inclusion board, currently chaired by the acting Chief Executive of Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust.
Our network of Digital Inclusion Co-ordinators has expanded into secondary care. In September 2024, a Co-ordinator was appointed and embedded within Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust. As well as supporting hospital patients in Newark and Mansfield, this new role has enabled regular digital support hubs to be hosted in Mansfield Central Library.
Digital support hubs have been hosted in over 56% of GP Practices during the past year. These sessions make a real difference to our residents being able to get online. As well as helping citizens to register and use the NHS App, they play a part in improving digital confidence and skills for local communities as well as GP Practice teams.
Our CVS collaboration project has continued. We give organisations the skills to work with their service users directly as Digital Champions. This year, we’ve supported another eight organisations, investing over £45,000 over the year and trained over 50 digital champions. This legacy work is vital to supporting those working with our most vulnerable residents.
Read more about how our digital champions work within our local communities >
It’s crucial that our workforce can feel digitally confident too. This year we launched a bespoke Health and Digital Literacy eLearning course in collaboration with the Patient Information Forum (PIF).
Learners tell us the course makes a difference, with 100% of respondents surveyed saying the course improved their knowledge.
By developing this course, we’re ensuring that all ICS colleagues can increase their digital health literacy as the transition from analogue to digital continues.
“The course is easy to listen too – short burst of info, using a variety of tools to keep engagement.”
people supported via a Digital Inclusion Co-ordinator
skills sessions delivered
distributed via CVS collaborations
colleagues digitally upskilled
Over this past year, we have continued to see significant progress in the adoption of digital social care records. Over £700,000 has been distributed across Nottingham & Nottinghamshire, supporting care providers looking after our most vulnerable residents to implement a digital social care record.
Over 500 (85%) of adult social care providers now use a digital social care record helping to reduce time spent on paperwork, daily documentation and streamlining handovers.
Digital records allow for quicker access to information, reducing time spent searching for paper documents. The automation of routine tasks can save time.
We have continued to successfully introduce and test at scale other technological solutions. These have included acoustic falls monitoring and sensor-based falls technology now in over 30 care settings within our locality.
‘The pets (robotic pet companions) have increased our clients’ sense of wellbeing. Our clients with dementia have really enjoyed having a ‘pet’ to look after. It has given them an increased sense of purpose which has impacted on their wellbeing in a positive way.’
These early trials enabled a more structured evaluation programme to be established in Spring 2025, with initial results anticipated available towards the end of this year.
The technology continues to have a positive impact on service users, families and care home staff alike.
“Makes me feel part and parcel of my family member’s daily care. I feel in touch and involved in their support.”
Our success in digitising social care continues to be built on fostering collaboration with local ICS partners, Nottinghamshire Care Associations as well as building trust with our adult social care providers.
The impact of our work has been nationally recognised. In December 2024, along with a colleague from the ICB and a local care provider, we were invited to present to senior representatives from NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care at a national seminar.
As the funding and associated programme came to an end in March 2025, the impact of the digital and social care record has been significant, enabling cost, efficiency and time savings for the care providers.
distributed across Nottingham & Nottinghamshire
of adult social care providers using a digital social care record
acoustic falls monitoring
and sensor-based falls technology
in over 30 care settings
The Digital Notts Programme Management Office (PMO) is embedded across all our system-wide programmes. It is essential in leveraging our system-wide approach to digital transformation through good governance, reporting, financial and benefits management.
As well as providing administrative support and benefit and impact analysis across our programmes, throughout 2024-2025, our PMO has:
In December 2024, Digital Notts received a ‘significant assurance’ assessment from external auditors 360 Assurance. We received a few recommendations, all of which were quickly actioned. Good governance is critical as it ensures that the digital initiatives are on track and meeting their objectives.
The work of the Digital Notts PMO was essential in getting commitment from partner CEOs to adopt a ‘Digital by Default approach’. This commitment is vital as we move towards increasing digital engagement within the system.
Looking ahead, the Digital Notts PMO is developing a set of KPIs to support our ambitious goals to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of digital healthcare.
Collaborative procurement efforts across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire will further enhance efficiency and savings and make healthcare more sustainable.
Digital Notts PMO aims to find the right hybrid blend of strong governance whilst remaining agile; responsive but in a controlled manner to ensure that it adapts to the changing environment we work in.
As has been shown, this year we have made great strides to strengthening our ethos of ‘people centred’ digital transformation.
Stronger relationships have been developed across our operational transformation programmes. These ensure digital transformation is focussed in areas that improve our system pressures and make it a smoother, quicker and more personalised experience for those using our health and care services in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
The success of our work has been nationally recognised by our digital maturity assessment (DMA) score. In the most recent assessment Nottingham and Nottinghamshire scored 2.96/5, with strengths identified in several areas including Well Lead and Healthy Populations. Whilst we are in the top 10 ICSs for the number of residents registered and using the NHS App.
Across the three Trusts and ICB, digital colleagues delivered £5.4m of efficiencies and £3.5m of deferred funding commitments giving a total of £8.9m towards the 2024/25 ICS financial position . This was well in excess of the £6m target and in line with the stretch target of £9m. In addition to this non-cash releasing productivity efficiencies have been achieved through digital transformation.
Our plans for 2025-26 and beyond
Our work will continue to be aligned to system wide transformation programmes. We will:
Go live with our flagship programme the Notts Care Record over the Summer. This will make information available across our key partners, increasing productivity by having key information available in the right place at the right time for our workforce and our patients.Build on nationally led developments, utilise expanding NHS App functionality, enhancing the range of services for appointment bookings, hospital test results and patient care plans, increasing patient engagement and confidence.
Continue to scale up the use of digital correspondence, leading on the delivery of a system-wide objective to achieve 50% of hospital letters sent digitally. This will generate significant savings as well as reduce our carbon footprint.
Exploit national assets to improve patient treatment lists and theatre utilisation. We will continue to work with local providers to further improve referrals, test results, digital appointments as well as pre- and post-op patient engagement.
Continue work with our communities to improve digital inclusion and increase digital confidence, ensuring underserved communities are supported as we move from analogue to digital.
Support our providers whilst they roll out whole organisational digital assets such as electronic patient records (EPR) – the single biggest transformation programme NHS organisations will undertake.
Having achieved much, we know there is more that can be done. We look forward to the opportunities that 2025-2026 will bring and the impact that digital transformation will continue to have across our system.
Please get in touch if you’d like more information or want to discuss how digital transformation could help you, your workforce and your patients. Simply email nnicb-nn.digital.notts@nhs.net.