During the Covid-19 pandemic there was a rapid digital transformation of health and care services, however, the flaw in the plan was the triple whammy issue of pre-existing inequalities being compounded by Covid-19 and by digital exclusion. The communities most affected by these inequalities are often also those who most need health and care services.

In response, we launched a social change programme called Inclusive Digital Transformation. This means co-designing inclusion into digital transformation as far upstream as possible. 

The key elements of Inclusive Digital Transformation are:

• Focusing on building equity and changing the system

• Co-designing with people at risk of digital exclusion and other stakeholders

• Getting upstream to prevent problems 

• A shared strategy based on understanding needs and assets

• Collective leadership, capacity and resources to take it forward

• Addressing the remaining problems of digital inclusion

• Using improvement approaches to continue to respond to the changing contexts over time.

We have worked with many different partners including:

• Working with NHSX and NHS England and Improvements Health Inequalities Team supporting ten integrated care systems to become digital inequality pioneers.

• Supporting the whole of Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System to map out needs and assets, building understanding and capability around inclusive co-design and working with on clinical care pathways at a place level.

• Working with the integrated care systems across Yorkshire and Humber to co-design a digital inclusion blueprint.

• Working with NHS England and Improvement North East and Yorkshire, NHSX and the Yorkshire and Humber AHSN and North East and North Cumbria AHSN on co-designing inclusion into remote monitoring tools, delivery of a learning programme and developing an FutureNHS workspace repository for inclusive digital transformation.

• Working with Oxford University on ‘what inclusive remote video consultation looks like’.

• Working with NHS England and Improvement on mental health and digital inclusion.