Reimagining Health and Care Around the Needs of Children

Strasys partnered with Alder Hey to help it think differently and reshape its future through an evidence and insight-led approach

Alder Hey is a leading global specialist paediatric hospital based in Liverpool.

The organisation was experiencing a huge increase in demand, leading to significant pressures on services and staff wellbeing. It wanted a fresh and innovative approach to create a new strategic direction.

Strasys partnered with the Trust to reimagine the organisation from a hospital service provider to improve the life chances and outcomes for children and young people.

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Reimagining Care for Children and Young People

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“We didn’t want a cookie-cutter approach. Strasys helped us use population data insights to truly understand the needs of CYP and ensure we brought all our resources/expertise to bear to tackle those needs and reshape our future. I’m hugely grateful for what Strasys has achieved.”

Challenge

Alder Hey is already a pioneer in innovation. To make a real difference to the children, young people and families (CYPF), the leadership identified an urgent need to do more to tackle health inequalities.

The current model is unsustainable: Past strategic focus had been on maintaining primarily healthcare services, focusing on regulatory compliance and delivering commissioned services. However, the environment has changed significantly.

It needed a radical approach to deliver a clear plan and commitment.

Solution

The board was taken on a process of discovery and design that challenged them to think differently and beyond the NHS norms.

The leadership established a deep understanding of its capabilities and population needs through a unique combination of advanced analytics, subject matter expertise, scientific rigour, and personal empowerment.

This led to a radically new future, building integrated care for children across health, care and education and accelerating system integration.

“We were keen on developing an evidenced-based approach that was led by what children and young people want and not another NHS strategy developed through an institution lens.”

Outcome

For the first time, the organisation had a process that led to changes to executive roles, structures, governance and the triangulation of multiple agendas into one, firmly focused on success and meeting population needs.

Children and young people’s voice is at the centre of strategic transformation, resulting in four integrated care models to deliver more holistic care that meets their needs.

The Board became emotionally committed to leading this change.

• Uplifted capability and engagement across individuals, executives, and the Board
• Clinical ownership with organisation agency to improve life chances across the ecosystem
• Established the first shadow ICB for children dedicated to meeting their needs
• Uplift in economic value and radical new success measures – more effective alternative to cost-reduction
• Significantly simplified transformation agenda, creating more headroom for providing care

In parallel, Workforce Decision Intelligence identified £70m in workforce savings and delivered a 5% improvement in retention within the first year.

The approach has wider system relevance. The shadow ICB for children established through this work offers a model for how Integrated Care Systems can organise specialist services around population need rather than organisational boundaries.

“Working with Strasys has exceeded my expectations. I have been impressed by how a small group of people, can work alongside the internal team to re-direct a complex organisation. They talk in a language I can understand, are credible and inspire confidence. It’s been a very positive experience and very stimulating to think in a different way.”