Data-driven decision making – the Wakefield way

An innovative model that uses data from across the Wakefield District health and care system to help us better understand the health and care needs of our population is to be showcased at a prestigious scientific conference in November.

Colleagues from NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board and Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust have been selected by a team of judges to present at the Faculty of Clinical Informatics (FCI) Annual Scientific Conference, taking place 29 – 30 November 2023 for their innovative project – The power of linked data across organisations at “place” to support data driven decision making.

The team will showcase Wakefield’s in-house integrated data model, which provides district-wide insight and intelligence on population health and care needs and allows the system to make informed decisions at a strategic, transformational and clinical level.

The bespoke data system is being used to identify local challenges, forecast what the future could look like and evaluate progress on population outcomes and the impact of pathway changes.

The insight and intelligence, taken from services including primary care, secondary care, mental health, community, social care and the ambulance service, has supported our understanding of health inequalities and how people use local health and care services.  More recently, it is being used to support the integrated community transformation programme by identifying patients at risk of emergency admission. Proactive plans can then be put in place to support these people better in the place they call home.

Dr Colin Speers, Executive System Healthcare Advisor and Chief Clinical Information Officer (Wakefield), NHS West Yorkshire ICB said: “It is brilliant for the team to have their ideas and hard work recognised and valued by being asked to share with informatics leaders across the UK”. 

Combining multiple data sets allows true population health exploration and this will continue to evolve.  A linked data model that historically focused on health, is now being developed further to include education, housing, children and the voluntary and community sector.