Launching our member programme event season!

We are excited to announce the launch of our highly anticipated webinar events season, kicking off on Tuesday 3rd September with our Learning Disability Specialist Services Data Collection Launch Event. 

The majority of member programme projects are now in validation and the project support teams are preparing for our annual benchmarking findings events taking place from September to January. As ever, our events are highly popular, engaging and informative, covering a wide range of topics and healthcare trends. A full schedule can be found below. 

The benchmarking findings webinars bring together our expert Support Team and senior healthcare professionals. They will share their expertise and best practices across different healthcare sectors - whether you're a nurse, project manager, or analyst. These webinars will offer valuable knowledge and actionable takeaways to improve your organisation's performance and drive success. 

“Once again we are preparing for the launch of our events season, including our highly popular project findings events. We are excited to be providing a platform to not only showcase our data but invite professionals to connect, learn and grow” - Emma Bamber, Associate Director Member Programme. 

Registration for any of the events below can be completed here - upon registration, participants will receive an email confirmation and calendar invite which is to be used to access the event. 

Interested members are encouraged to secure their spot early. Register now for specific webinars or to gain comprehensive knowledge across multiple disciplines why not opt for the entire series! t  Webinar recordings will be made available on the members’ area for those who attend and want to recap and to ensure those who are unable to attend can access the content at their convenience.  Don’t have access to the members’ area, you can request access here  

All events will take place on Microsoft Teams unless otherwise stated. If you have any difficulties registering, then please contact enquiries@nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk   
 
We look forward to welcoming you all to our webinars later this year!   

September 

Every Tuesday (14:00 – 14:30) - Community projects drop-in session  

Every Thursday (11:30 – 12:00) - Acute projects drop-in session 

03/09/24 (14:00 – 15:00) - Learning Disability Specialist Services Data Collection Launch Event 

25/09/24 (15:00 – 16:00) - Annual General Meeting 

October 

15/10/24 (13:30 – 16:00) - Emergency Care Benchmarking Findings Event 

16/10/24 (13:30 – 16:00) - Pharmacy and Medicines Optimisation Benchmarking Findings Event  

25/10/24 (13:00 – 16:00) - NHSBN and the Queen’s Nursing Institute; Exploring the landscape of District Nursing in 2023/24 

30/10/24 (13:00 – 15:00) - Adult and Older People's Mental Health Benchmarking Findings Event 

November 

13/11/24 (13:30 – 16:30) - Managing Frailty in the Acute Setting Benchmarking Findings Event 

14/11/24 (13:00 – 15:00) - Children and Young People’s Mental Health Benchmarking Findings Event 

20/11/24 (13:00 – 16:00) - Therapies Benchmarking Event (Adult Therapies and Children's Community Therapies projects) 

29/11/24 (13:30 – 16:00) - Healthy Child Programme and Children's Community Nursing Findings Event 

December 

10/12/24 (13:30 – 16:00) - Outpatients Benchmarking Findings Event 

12/12/24 (13:30 – 16:30) - Intermediate Care Benchmarking Findings Event 

NHSBN Steering Group Elections Update

As members of the Network will be aware, there have been several vacancies on our Steering Group.  The team have been running back-to-back elections to recruit representatives for the Acute, Mental Health and ICS Sectors. 

A total of six expressions of interest were received from Acute Sector representatives and after a round of voting by acute constituent members and interviews with the Senior Leadership Team at the NHS Benchmarking Network.  We are pleased to announce that our newest recruit and Acute Sector representative is Becky Taylor, Director of Continuous Improvement, Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust.

Becky is experienced in working in data-driven healthcare consultancy, including working with the national teams on productivity data, and driving operational performance improvement across a range of acute and community providers across the country, with over 10 years experience, working in over 40 Trusts! Welcome Becky!  

There have been 6 expressions of interest received for the vacancy of the Mental Health Representative.  Constituent members for the Mental Health Sector are currently voting on their top 3 candidates.  Product Leads, Deputy Product Leads and CEO’s keep a look out for the email regarding the voting process.  The top 3 candidates with the most votes will then meet with the Senior Leadership Team here at the Network for an informal interview before a final decision by Co-Chairs of the Steering Group. 

Finally, we are calling for expressions of interest for the ICS sector representative.  If your ICB is a member of the Network and you would like to submit an expression of interest, please contact c.taiwo2@nhs.net  

Farewells 

As we start to welcome new representatives to the Steering Group, we say farewell to Dr Hassan Paraiso, Consultant Acute Physician and Clinical Director Urgent care at The Shrewsbury & Telford Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Gaurav Sharma, Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist and Medical Lead at West London NHS Trust and Gurprit Pannu, Chief Digital & Information Officer at Sussex Health and Care. 

Thank you all for your continued support over your tenures on the NHS Benchmarking Network’s Steering Group! 

To find out more about the NHS Benchmarking Network why not register here and join us on teams for our Annual General Meeting which takes place on Wednesday 25th September, 3pm-4pm.   

NHS Benchmarking Network Away Day - July 2024

Twice a year the NHS Benchmarking Network team meet for a themed ‘Away Day’. On Friday 12th July, we headed to Platt Fields Market Garden in South Manchester where we were welcomed and hosted by not-for-profit enterprise Manchester Urban Diggers (MUD).

MUD was chosen as a venue because of the great work it is doing for the community. MUD’s focus is on revitalising communities within Greater Manchester through sustainable food production. This includes advocating for food sovereignty, providing volunteering opportunities and services and growing fruit, vegetables and herbs to make available to the local community.

The day was split into two halves; the morning session was focused on team developments and sharing of ideas, with the focus on the Networks values and behaviours. The afternoon the Network Team worked as volunteers in the garden and took part in activities to support wellbeing.

To kick off the morning session Director Sarah Atkinson welcomed new colleagues, joining the Network this week. Following this Sarah tested our knowledge of all things NHS Benchmarking Network through a quiz. The quiz allowed everyone to gain a better understanding of all the different elements and mechanisms that make up the Network Support Team.

After a short break, Product Designer David Hughes gave an in-depth presentation on the upcoming technical developments, outlining how the development is progressing and how the various components work together to support the Network. Further details of this will be shared with members in due course.

The morning was rounded off with an input session with everyone, voicing their opinions on how we work together and what areas we can improve.

Following a delicious home-grown and cooked at MUD lunch, small groups took part in wellbeing activities throughout the gardens. These included yoga, basket and bracelet making. Outside of these activities, colleagues also learned new skills, completing different tasks around the gardens. These ranged from weeding, harvesting crops, potting plants, and tidying the gardens.

The activities were a fantastic way to engage in new activities, enhance our teamworking and promote wellbeing.  Engaging in volunteering gave our team a great sense of satisfaction, knowing they’re making a difference and supporting MUD with its community project.

Our Director, Sarah Atkinson had this to say about the day…

“A Great team day today volunteering at MUD CIC. Focused on working together and inspired by everything Mike and the team have created and are doing for the community in the garden at Platt Fields. Launching our new technology project, welcoming our new members of the team, then a bit of everything from harvesting, tidying, chopping and weeding to basket making and a spot of yoga (plus a delicious home-grown lunch)”

The next NHS Benchmarking Network ‘away day’ will take place in December.

Introducing the new Head of the Workforce Benchmarking Programme!

As we say farewell to Bev Sheard after 3 years of dedication to the Workforce Benchmarking Programme, we would like to introduce the new Associate Director for the Workforce Benchmarking Programme, Karen Rix.

Karen joined the Network in late 2022 as Associate Director of Network Development and ICB Lead.  Prior to joining the Network Karen spent 18 years working within the NHS, in which 15 years were spent at Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust.  Working as Deputy Director Karen gained a wealth of experience in mental health service provision, transformation, commissioning, and performance.  Karen’s passions lie within quality and patient focused services.  In addition to this Karen has a wealth of experience of using data and technology to bring about sustainable change and improved patient outcomes.

Before joining the Network as a permanent member of staff Karen was a member of the Network’s Steering Group as a representative for the Mental Health Sector.

As ICB lead Karen has developed an active reference group for both members and non-member to understand what ICBs require in terms of benchmarking and how the Network can develop their offer to ICBs. Karen also helped to develop the role of the Network Development team, whose focus is to support our members by sharing information and answering enquiries.

The reigns of ICB lead have now been handed over to Associate Director for the Member Programme, Emma Bamber. This enables Karen to focus on the Workforce Programme.

To find out more about the Workforce Benchmarking Programme please visit their dedicated website here

If you are interested in joining the ICB reference group, please contact emma.bamber@nhs.net

If you would like to know more about membership of the Network, please see our membership pages here  

We also offer separately commissioned bespoke insight and analytics work, developed in partnership with your organisation. More information can be found here  

In celebration of Community Nursing NHSBN’s Karen Rix interviewed Aaron Watts, Community Nurse at Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust

Karen: Today, we are delighted to have Aaron Watts, Nurse at Norfolk Community Health & Care (NCHC), joining us for an insightful conversation about how he is using benchmarking data in his role and how this is supporting his practice and his trust. Welcome, Aaron and thank you for taking the time to speak with the NHS Benchmarking Network.

Aaron: Thank you for the opportunity. It's a pleasure to be here.

Background

Karen: Please could you tell me a bit about your current role and experience.

Aaron: I have been working for NCHC since September 2019. I started as a trainee nursing associate, studying, and working throughout covid to reach my qualification as a registered nursing associate. Since then, I have been upskilling on the nursing degree apprenticeship course and will reach Band 5 this October.

I have a particular interest in wounds and take pride in providing person focused care in the community. My role allows me to use my clinical skills in patient’s homes, I am gaining lots of experience in many areas of community nursing. I am grateful to my trust for funding both of my courses, I aspire to continue my learning with a master's degree and hope to reach Band 6 as soon as possible.

Benchmarking data and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust

Karen: Thanks for sharing your journey so far Aaron. Could you outline how benchmarking data is used in NCHC and healthcare more broadly, with a particular focus in nurse education.

Aaron: Benchmarking data provides an insight into the metrics and statistics of patient care. As a community nurse there is particular value in this data being utilised in the provision of care. Such value comes from understanding influences and general trends of your trust and teams and then using this in comparison to others. If certain areas highlight your team as an outlier this can allow for investigation and lead to service improvements.

Karen: Are there any specific areas or processes that you find benchmarking data most valuable?

Aaron: The sheer volume of data and information accessible is valuable, comparing ICB’s is also of interest. I have only recently gained access to the NHSBN (NHS Benchmarking Network) Futures forum, but the prospect of raising questions in this format also seems valuable.

Karen: That’s great thank you, I am keen to understand the limitations you experience in accessing benchmarking data to support your practice.

Aaron: I have recently started to utilise data in my practice. The problem I have found is the data is often at a higher level than what is accessible for myself as a community nurse. Seeing data specific to clinical care plans, such as pressure ulcers, wound care, compression bandaging, bladder washouts, catheters, etc., would allow insight into trends and data that I could use frequently. For example, understanding if certain areas in my trust have low caseloads of bladder washouts or if my team retains pressure ulcers longer on average than other localities.

Karen: Have you encountered any challenges in utilising the benchmarking data you have accessed in your practice? If so, how have you overcome them?

Aaron: The main challenge encountered is finding the time to locate the data that is relevant to my practice. With my clinical lead and clinical operations manager understanding the value of data and seeing its implementation can be beneficial to the team, there has been capacity created in order to dig into the data held by NHS Benchmarking Network. Currently the data is providing opportunities for thinking about quality improvements and changing practice for the better. I would like to see more specific data, as noted previously, regarding individual practices. These niche parts of data could provide insight at a level that is more accessible for front line staff.

Benchmarking data and its contribution to Quality Improvement

Karen: How does benchmarking data contribute to quality improvement initiatives within your area of interest and/or your Trust, do you have examples you can share?

Aaron: I am investigating introducing wound care training that can be utilised by clinical leads and clinical operations managers to give to new staters and colleagues who request further training. There are E-learning and tissue viability courses that are accessible, but these are underutilised. Often, it's the case that community nurse wound care skills and knowledge is developed over experiential training rather than any formal education. Our QI project is addressing this by changing the approach.

I am currently investigating, with the aid of my clinical lead, a general trend of retaining diabetic patients on our caseload longer than others in our wider region. This may be as a result from requiring more diabetic education for nurses or patients or implementing a wider range of diabetic management equipment to promote greater autonomy with some of our diabetic patients. This study has arisen from benchmarking data and may lead to improved patient wellbeing. Data highlighting wound care caseload, QOF prevalence, mean visits, resource allocation etc., could be beneficial for my investigation. I am interested in determining why my locality has an above than average prevalence of diabetes and if there are any improvements we can make in reducing our caseload and promoting patient wellbeing.

Karen: I would be really keen to hear more about this after your investigations, I am sure our readers would also be keen to hear more.

Aaron: Absolutely! We can follow up once they’re complete.

Feedback processes

Karen: Just a few more questions before we end, how do you communicate findings from benchmarking data to your colleagues or leadership teams?

Aaron: Disseminating the information is fed upwards to my clinical lead who utilises quarterly newsletters or emails to our wider team.

Karen: Are there risks of sharing benchmarking data with staff?

Aaron: Staff engagement would be the only risk. With low capacity and straining resources, nurses might not engage with the data being sent, having to focus on their day-to-day job.

Closing statements

Karen: Finally, do you have any content or areas you would like to include? Anything else to share with our readers?

Aaron: As noted, although I’m not sure if there is any realistic way to collect this data, more specific data regarding clinical care plans.

Karen: Thank you so much for sharing your insights into the data with us, Aaron. It has been a pleasure speaking with you and I wish you every success with your career.

About your interviewer

Karen Rix, Associate Director, Network Development and ICB (Integrated Care Boards) Sector Lead

Karen joined the Network in November 2022 and heads the Network Development and ICB teams. Karen previously spent 18 years working within the NHS. As a Deputy Director, Karen gained a wealth of experience in mental health service provision, transformation, commissioning, and performance.

Karen's passions lie within quality and patient focused services. Karen has a strong record of using data and technology to bring about sustainable change and improved patient outcomes.

You can find information benchmarking data relevant to this article in the Members Area community indicators pages and the IC Benchmarker.

Interested in sharing how your organisation has used the data? Contact us, we would be thrilled to write a case study, have an interview or just a chat!

A Day to Remember: NHS Benchmarking Network – Celebration of the Network

The highly anticipated ‘Celebration of the Network’ event took place at the Birmingham Conference and Events Centre last week (16/05/24). The Network were delighted to welcome member organisations from throughout the UK.

For the first time ever, we welcomed virtual delegates through a hybrid system, with over 30 delegates joining online, all coming together to celebrate the excellent and ground breaking difference that benchmarking can make.

Bringing together NHSBN members and the Network Support Team, the event celebrated how Network data is being utilised by members and also recognised the valuable contribution made by member organisations.

The event kicked off with host Sam Wilde, Co-Chair of the Network Steering Group, setting the scene by highlighting the importance of benchmarking data within his own trust, Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust. Sam emphasised what Network data can bring to a trusts strategy long term.

One of the days most anticipated moments was the first ever NHSBN award ceremony. Network Director Sarah Atkinson and event host Sam Wilde presented five awards. Four awards recognised members contribution to the Network. These awards winners were chosen by taking into account many factors: participation in Reference Groups, member programme projects and support with NHSFutures, project scoping and code testing. The fifth award recognised the personal achievements of one member of the Network support team, Aidan Rawlinson, Product Developer.

Congratulations to our winners:

• Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

• Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust

• Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust

• Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

• Aidan Rawlinson, NHS Benchmarking Network

Throughout the day, attendees had the opportunity to network and share ideas with peers. Four guest speakers led the way by sharing how their Trusts have used the benchmarking data. Thank you to our guest speakers:

Samantha Steeples, Information Quality Officer at Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust - Samantha discussed benchmarking in practice, a view from her own organisation. The presentation received interest during the day, particularly around the Trusts top tips NHS Benchmarking Policy.

Ursula James, Associate Director for Mental Health at NHS England - Ursula presented how benchmarking data had supported Systems within South West England. Ursula outlined conclusions from some of the regions bespoke projects undertaken by NHSBN. These conclusions included empowering, enabling and equipping Systems to deliver on population needs following the South West Perinatal Mental Health Services project.

Sheila O’Loughlin, Head of Home Pathway, Vicky Robinson, Therapy Team Lead and Paul Drury, Director Urgent Community Response Care Group at Bromley Healthcare CIC Ltd - Bromley Healthcare CIC kicked off the event's afternoon session with a presentation focused on Intermediate Care and how the CIC has used their Intermediate Care data.

Phil Horner, Deputy Chief Strategy & Improvement Officer at Lancashire & South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust - Phil rounded off the day with a presentation on building on benchmarking within the Trust.

As the event drew to a close, attendees left feeling enriched and eager to apply insights with new connections gained. The success of this year’s event sets the foundations for future celebrations of the Network, as we continue to recognise the invaluable contribution and commitment from our members.

Thank you to everyone who joined us on the day, in particular our guest speakers and award winners. We hope to see many of you at our future events, whether that’s in person or virtually.

For more information and to stay updated on upcoming events, visit https://www.nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk/events.

Unveiling the new NHSBN website and NHSFutures Workspace

Following the launch of the 2024/25 Member Work Programme on 11th April 2024. The NHS Benchmarking Network is delighted to unveil its highly anticipated new website, NHSFutures Workspace and new look members’ area.

Website

Taking onboard the feedback we received in our annual member survey, we have developed an easy to navigate, exciting and resourceful website to meet the needs of our members. Whether you're seeking membership information, member project details, the date of an upcoming event or simply to access our members’ area, we have you covered.

You’ll notice several changes to our site compared to the old site. We’ve updated the navigation and refined the categories to focus on our core elements. You’ll now also find our events under the ‘What we do’ section, and an events calendar to  allow you to see all the upcoming events more easily.

To explore the new website and experience all of its new features, visit https://www.nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk/ today!

Members’ area

Our members’ area has also seen some updates including:

• Projects that your organisation has registered for will now be displayed first under ‘your current projects’ on the home page

• Information on the project stage (e.g. ‘data collection closes in 14 days’).

• The introduction of a sector filter and search box to make it easy for users to find projects of interest.

• The left-hand side of the home screen now shows upcoming events, resources and the new NHSFutures workspace.

• A resources page which pulls together the resources from across the Network projects into one easy access area. Resources found here include project overview reports, infographics, case studies and event documents.  

NHSFutures Workspace

Feedback received in the member survey and from consultation on our website Forum page, recommended that the Network should have its own NHSFutures workspace. We have now launched our NHSFutures Workspace, please take a look and let us know your thoughts (https://future.nhs.uk/BenchmarkingNetwork).

The workspace aims to bring together individuals from our member organisations to network and collaborate with each other as well as with the Network’s Support Team. We encourage you to participate and generate discussion topics in our dedicated sector forums, sharing how you have used Network data for good practice.

On the left hand side of the workspace homepage, you’ll see our resources and forums. We have broken these down by sector and we welcome thoughts on whether a further breakdown by project would be helpful.

To join our workspace: follow this link https://future.nhs.uk/BenchmarkingNetwork and click join at the top of the page. Once access has been granted, you’ll be free to explore all the resources available. Over the coming weeks we will continue to add content to the site, so we encourage you to check back regularly.

Finally, we’d like to thank all of our members for their contributions and feedback to make these updates possible. If you have any feedback on the website, members’ area or NHSFutures workspace, please do get in contact at enquiries@nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk.

Our 2023/24 Membership Year in Review!!

Click on the image above to view the 2023/24 Annual Report.

As we wrap up the 2023/24 year, we are pleased to share our review of the benchmarking year and feedback from our annual member survey.

The Annual Report encapsulates many of the achievements and milestones that the NHS Benchmarking Network has accomplished over the past year.

Highlights include:

• Delivery of an insightful member work programme with over 700,000 data points received from members.

• Updates to our Terms of Membership to include data sharing between members.

• Technology developments to enhance the member experience.

Every membership year we give members the opportunity to feedback about their experience through our member survey. This survey captures what they like about being members and improvements they would like to see.  

As we launch the 2024/25 member work programme, we have taken this opportunity to respond to members on the work we have done to address feedback received in the recent survey. The broad topics of feedback include data definitions, data collection process, dissemination of reports and outputs and communications.  The full feedback can be found here.

Members can provide feedback to the Support Team throughout the year by:

• Joining one of our Reference Groups to be involved in the development of the Network and subject areas

• Emailing the project teams directly, email address can be found on the members’ area and website

• Speaking to the team, all the project specific phone numbers are available on the members’ area

• Attending a drop-in session that will be running throughout data collection and validation

• Joining or starting a discussion on our brand new NHS Futures workspace

We would like to thank our members and stakeholders for their continued support, engagement and feedback through 2023/24. We look forward to continued collaboration during 2024/25.

If you have any queries about the 2023/24 Annual Member Work Programme Report or member survey feedback, please contact the Support Team on enquiries@nhsbenchmarking.nhs.uk.

The NHS Benchmarking Network offer two types of membership plans, an Insight membership and Foundation membership.

In addition, the NHS Benchmarking Network delivers National Audits, a workforce work programme and a bespoke commissioned programme.