Working Together

The Somerset Health & Care Strategy aims to improve lives through better teamwork across the ICS. It focuses on working together to boost both physical and mental health across our Somerset community, and to reduce unfair differences in health and care outcomes.

People should get the care they need without worrying about which organisation is providing it. Getting health and care services should be easy and quick for everyone.

To fix this, we want to use digital tools and implement a knowledge-sharing culture. This will help us break down barriers across the ICS that make it hard for us to work as a team. Our plan is to make it easier for everyone to work together across our different organisations.

We will use technology to help teams work better together. By joining forces, we will treat the people we support as whole individuals. This teamwork will allow us to do things more efficiently, saving time and money.

All our partners use Microsoft 365 for productivity and collaboration tools, resulting in multiple instances across the system. Some can be managed locally, allowing for a greater level of inter-partner collaboration, while others—such as the NHS England tenancy used for the ICB's corporate entity and GP practices—have more restricted sharing and communication capabilities. We could consider moving away from Microsoft's collaboration tools and implement best-in-breed alternatives system-wide, but this would be expensive and might lead to running duplicate solutions. The key questions are: How can we make Teams, calendar access, and SharePoint/OneDrive work across the system? And can we agree to invest in a common platform to share project progress and knowledge?

A community of practice is a group of people who share a common interest, profession, or passion, who come together regularly to learn from each other and improve their skills. In the context of digital, data, and technology, these communities bring together professionals from various organisations within the ICS to share knowledge, best practices, and experiences. They provide a platform for collaborative learning, problem-solving, and innovation.

Communities of practice foster a sense of belonging and shared purpose, enabling members to stay updated on industry trends, discuss challenges, and collectively develop solutions. By facilitating these communities, the ICS can promote cross-organisational learning, standardise practices, and drive continuous improvement in digital and technology capabilities across the healthcare system.

A Common Capability Framework refers to a standardised set of skills, competencies, and knowledge required across various digital, data, and technology roles within the ICS. A framework will enable consistency in job descriptions, skill requirements, and professional development across all partners. By establishing a shared language and understanding of capabilities, it will facilitate better collaboration, enable easier movement of talent between our respective organisations, and will help identify skill gaps and training needs for the system.

A Technical Design Authority (TDA) will be a governance body responsible for overseeing and guiding the technical aspects of digital and IT projects within the ICS. Its primary purpose is to ensure that all technology solutions and architectures align with the partnership’s strategic goals, comply with standards and best practices, and integrate seamlessly across different systems and partners. The TDA plays a crucial role in maintaining consistency, promoting interoperability, and minimising technical debt across the ICS's digital landscape.

By reviewing and approving technical designs, the TDA helps to safeguard the integrity and efficiency of the ICS's digital infrastructure, ensuring that investments in technology deliver maximum value and support the overall mission of improving healthcare delivery.