Threads with Connection

Every now and then you stumble across something from your past that makes you stop and think. Recently, while looking into supportive information for something that I'll write about in the very future, I found myself revisiting a short video I created around eight years ago. I hadn't watched it for years. What I expected was a trip down memory lane. What I found instead was a reminder of how many of the ambitions we are still pursuing today were already visible through the experiences of one remarkable individual called Simon. His story helped us explain why digital transformation mattered then. And perhaps more surprisingly, it helps explain why it still matters now. The Video is shared at the end of this post. As you watch it, remember that this was recorded around eight years ago—long before many of today's conversations about neighbourhood health, the NHS App, and the Single Patient Record had become national priorities. Meeting Simon Before a life-changing accident, Si...

  One of the most common phrases used in health and care transformation is that patients should experience joined-up care. It's a phrase that appears in strategies, frameworks, presentations, and policy documents across the NHS. But what does it actually mean? At its simplest, it means that people should not have to navigate the complexities of our organisations in order to receive the care they need. Patients do not think in terms of primary care, community services, acute trusts, mental health providers, social care, local authorities, voluntary organisations, or integrated care boards. They simply know they need help. They have a health concern. A long-term condition. A family member who needs support. A recovery journey. A moment of crisis. What they experience is one life. Unfortunately, many of our systems have evolved around organisational structures rather than patient journeys. As a result, people often find themselves navigating boundaries that they neither understand nor...