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Healthier Futures - Digitally enabled primary and outpatient care

Digital technology is a significant part of our everyday lives improving the way we socialise, shop and work. It also has great potential to improve how the NHS delivers its services in a new and modern way; providing faster, safer and more convenient care. 

The NHS Long Term Plan underpins the importance of technology in the future NHS, setting out the critical priorities that will support digital transformation and provide a step-change in the way the NHS cares for citizens. In particular, it sets out how the NHS will:

  • Provide digital services and tools to give people more control over their own health and the care they receive from the NHS
  • Extend to everyone the NHS App as a new digital ‘front door’ to give people secure digital access to their own medical records; find trusted information about their health online; allow patients to conveniently book appointments and view test results online. In time it will also provide medical advice and consultations securely
  • Give health and care staff the technology they need to help them complete administrative tasks more quickly, freeing up time to spend with patients
  • Set standards that keep information secure and make sure NHS IT systems talk to each other to provide health and care staff with complete access to joined-up patient records.

Digitally-enabled care will go mainstream across the Black Country and West Birmingham

We understand that staff across health and care are supportive of enhancing access and using of digitally-enabled care. People tell us that having easy access to information to help make decisions about their health and care was the most important factor in helping them to live a healthy life.

Our vision for digitally-enabled primary and outpatient care includes:

  • Empowerment: People will access and contribute to their health and care records through technology
  • Infrastructure: Enabling access to required information to support decisions from anywhere – supporting place-based working
  • Integration: Standards and principles are necessary for our systems to work together and to break down boundaries between organisations
  • Intelligence: Supporting decision making and identifying best practice models leading to improved patient care

In The News

  • One record to improve health and care in the Black Country and West Birmingham

    People living in the Black Country and West Birmingham will soon get even better and safer care and treatment, thanks to the introduction of joined-up health and care records. One Health and Care is a new NHS shared care record launching later in the Spring, which will bring together all the separate records held by different local providers of health and social care – such as hospitals and GPs – in one secure, easy to read format. This will give authorised professionals who are directly respo...

  • Wash, wash, wash your hands

    As COVID-19 continues to spread in the area, people across the Black Country and West Birmingham are being reminded of the importance of washing their hands. Regular hand washing with soap and water remains an essential part of good hygiene and helps prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as other winter illnesses such as colds, flu and stomach bugs. Hands should be washed with warm water and liquid soap for at least 20 seconds before rinsing and drying them thoroughly. If soap and water are ...

  • Executive Recruitment for the Black Country Integrated Care Board

    The Black Country Integrated Care System is looking for future Executives to lead the Integrated Care Board when it is established in July 2022. We are now live with the recruitment to 3 of our 6 future executive roles. Adverts are now live for the roles below: Chief Finance Officer  Chief Medical Officer  Chief Nursing Officer Recruitment to the other executive posts of, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Equality and Innovations Officer and Chief People Officer will start in th...

  • Future NHS Health Board seeks independent non-executives

    The recruitment is now underway to appoint four independent non-executive members to the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB). The Integrated Care Board will be formed in April 2022, subject to the passing of the new Health and Care Bill. These new roles represent an opportunity to be on the Governing Body for the future NHS ICB, where non-executive members will help to shape a long-term, viable plan for the delivery of the functions, duties, and objectives of the NHS locally. Their role...

  • Mental health chief named as interim lead for NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board

    Health leaders are delighted to announce the appointment of Mark Axcell as Interim Chief Executive Designate for the Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB). Mr Axcell is currently Chief Executive of the local mental health and learning disabilities trust, Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and has more than 25 years’ experience within the NHS. He will take up the interim post from Monday (22 November) and will lead preparations for the launch of the new ICB next year, subject to...

  • Black Country and West Birmingham NHS pledges support to Armed Forces community

    On Monday 8 November, seven NHS organisations from the Black Country and West Birmingham Integrated Care System (ICS) signed the Armed Forces Covenant (AFC) at a virtual signing. The Black Country and West Birmingham ICS, the first ICS to sign up to the Covenant within the West Midland Reserve Forces & Cadets Association’s (RFCA) region, comprises 15 local health and care organisations who are jointly responsible for managing resources, delivering NHS standards, and improving the healt...

  • Online event for people living with diabetes

    Ahead of World Diabetes Day (Sunday 14 November), people living with diabetes across the Black Country and West Birmingham are invited to attend a special webinar taking place on Friday 12 November. Created by International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Diabetes Day is celebrated worldwide and aims spread awareness of diabetes. This year marks 100 years since the discovery of insulin, a treatment that has saved millions of lives around the world. To c...

  • Accelerating recovery of diagnostic services with £8million investment

    Following a successful bid, we are pleased to confirm that local NHS trusts are taking part in a national programme to help the NHS further accelerate diagnostic activity and recover services from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as quickly as possible. Our colleagues across NHS services are working hard to recover services affected by the pandemic, now the vaccine programme has helped to significantly reduce the number of Covid patients needing care. Throughout the pandemic the NHS has con...

  • Walsall people encouraged to take part in ground-breaking blood test cancer trial

    Thousands of letters are being sent to adults in Walsall this week, inviting them to take part in the world’s largest trial of a revolutionary new cancer-detecting blood test. The potentially lifesaving Galleri™ test can detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear. The NHS-Galleri trial, the first of its kind, aims to recruit 140,000 volunteers nationally, including thousands in the West Midlands, to see how well the test works in the NHS. Walsall is the first location in the We...

  • Recruitment begins for the Black Country Integrated Care Board Chief Executive Officer

    NHS England is advertising for a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to lead the future Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB). Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) are partnerships of health and care organisations, local government and the voluntary sector. These partnerships aim to meet health and care needs, to coordinate services and to plan in a way that improves population health and reduces inequalities between different groups. From April 2022 (subject to legislation) ICSs will become statutory...