Cambridge and Peterborough

Digital & Transformation Support

Introduction

Redmoor Health partnered with Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Integrated Care Board (ICB) to enhance digital adoption and improve patient access across primary care. The programme aligned with NHS England’s ‘Recovery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care,’ supporting practices with digital transformation, compliance, and engagement.

The programme combined tailored consultancy, peer networking, and practical tools to ensure that digital transformation efforts were both effective and sustainable.

Aim

  • Improve patient access to digital services, ensuring that tools such as the NHS App and online consultations were fully utilised.
  • Foster a culture of collaboration across GP practices and PCNs, creating a shared approach to digital priorities.
  • Enhance digital literacy among both patients and practice staff, empowering them to confidently engage with digital health solutions.
  • Support practices in meeting key NHS digital transformation benchmarks, ensuring compliance with accessibility and usability standards.

Challenges

Despite the clear benefits of digital transformation, several challenges had to be addressed to ensure the programme’s success:

  • Some practices were well on their way with digital adoption, while others needed significant support in understanding and implementing new tools.
  • Some patients were hesitant to engage with digital services. Likewise, some practice staff lacked confidence in promoting and managing digital tools.
  • Practices struggled to effectively engage with patients via online platforms, limiting the uptake of services such as the NHS App and online consultations.
  • Website usability, accessibility, and regulatory compliance varied significantly across the region, requiring intervention to bring all practices up to standard.

The Redmoor Solution

We provided a multi-faceted approach that not only introduced digital solutions but embedded them within everyday practice operations. The key elements of the solution included:

  • Comprehensive Website Reviews – Conducting detailed reviews of 87 practice websites to assess usability, accessibility, and compliance with NHS guidelines. A dashboard was created to visualise results, with tailored recommendations provided for each practice.
  • Digital Leads Forum – Establishing and coaching a network of Digital Champions within practices to drive digital-first initiatives and share best practices across the region.
  • Social Media Managed Service (SMMS) – Onboarding over 60 practices with improved social media presence across multiple pages, including scheduled posts, insights dashboards, and targeted coaching to improve patient engagement.
  • Digital Journey Planner (DJP) – Expanding the use of the DJP across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough to help practices optimise digital tools such as online consultations, NHS App usage, and patient messaging.
  • Digital Maturity Index (DMI) – Introducing bespoke indicators to track and improve digital transformation progress within practices.
  • Ongoing Training and Support – Providing monthly webinars, newsletters, and CPD-certified training courses to ensure continuous learning and development for practice staff.

Impact

The programme delivered significant improvements across key areas of digital adoption, engagement, and efficiency:

Enhanced Digital Service Utilisation:

  • NHS App registrations increased from 53% (Jan 2024) to 56% (Oct 2024), demonstrating growing patient confidence in digital self-service options.
  • Monthly repeat prescriptions requested via the NHS App surged from 62,000 to 73,000 (18% increase), reducing administrative burden on practices.
  • Online consultations rose by 14%, enabling more patients to access primary care remotely.

Improved Social Media Engagement:

  • Over 22,800 followers now engage with practice health content.
  • Posts generated over 3.8 million impressions, significantly improving health communication with patients.

Strengthened Digital Maturity:

  • 67 practices using the Digital Journey Planner to track and improve their digital capabilities.
  • The introduction of a Net Zero module provided guidance on reducing carbon footprints, embedding sustainability within digital transformation.

Better Alignment with NHS Priorities:

  • The DMI provided a measurable framework for practices to assess their digital maturity and identify areas for improvement.
  • Redmoor’s work directly contributed to NHS England’s strategic aims for digital transformation, supporting both patient access and practice efficiency.

Key Learning

  • Targeted support yields better results: Tailored interventions for individual practices increased adoption of digital tools.
  • Peer networks enhance transformation: The D&T Network fostered collaboration and knowledge-sharing across practices.
  • Data-driven insights drive improvement: The Digital Maturity Index helped practices measure progress and identify areas for development.
  • Consistent engagement is crucial: Regular webinars, newsletters, and training ensured continuous learning and adaptation.
  • Social media is a powerful tool: Effective online engagement significantly improved patient communication and awareness.

Whether it is by training and helping you use and embed technology, showcasing the great work you are doing, or helping you learn from experiences we have been part of elsewhere. Contact us to see how we can transform your digital practice.