2021: end of year blog
And what a year it has been.
Our small core team of 12 and network of expert associates have ‘travelled’ from Devon to Newcastle and Liverpool to Norfolk working with integrated care systems, provider trusts, national bodies and others in our mission to put inclusion at the forefront of digital transformation.
In 2020 we launched an Inclusive Digital Transformation co-design challenge, not knowing if anyone would listen to a small and relatively unknown team in the North. NHS England and Improvement’s digital transformation director Paul Rice, and Dawn Greaves, a digital programme lead within our own integrated care system took a chance on us and the rest was history.
Since then, over the course of the last 12 months we have worked directly with 15 integrated care systems (and indirectly with most of them), led three national programmes with NHS England and Improvement, NHSX, and the NHS Confederation and worked with some of the country’s leading lights including the fantastic Professor Trish Greenhalgh and her team.
Our achievements in 2021
Our work this year included delivering:
NHS England and Improvement’s health inequalities team and NHSX’s flagship ‘digital inequalities pioneers’ programme; working with 10 integrated care system teams to support them to embed inclusion into digitally enabled care pathways.
NHS England and Improvement digital mental health team’s ‘mental health and digital inclusion’ discovery programme; co-designing and delivering a research programme, learning programme and developing a guide for local systems and providers.
Working with the NHS Confederation to develop a collaborative digital skills guide for the mental health workforce.
Working with Oxford University to explore what inclusive remote video consultation looks like.
Supporting Norfolk and Waveney and Connected Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Systems to develop their Inclusive Digital Transformation approaches
We have worked with HMA to rebuild MindWell, our flagship platform that we deliver in partnership with Volition, a voluntary sector organisation. MindWell, which is a mental health information service for Leeds, has had over 2-million page visits since it was launched in 2016 and since the lockdowns its use has increased by 30%.
We have also worked with the national CAMHS taskforce and some incredible young people to co-design a prototype which uses an integrated digital approach to supporting young people to avoid hospital admissions.
We are proud to be part of the West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership and have carried out a number of co-design projects with various stakeholders across the patch including co-designing:
A whole system digital and data poverty blueprint.
A decision tree for primary care to help support people living with mental health illness.
A prototype app with autistic children and young people and their families and carers to help share their social and communication needs with services.
Sharing all that we learnt
We are commissioned with public funding so are committed to sharing all that we learn and in the last three months (September to November) we have delivered 22 learning sessions to over 352 people, we continue to develop a repository and community using a FutureNHS Workspace for all things Inclusive Digital Transformation, and to help educate at scale we have spoken at local and national events including the British Medical Journal health leadership event, the NHS Confederations’ annual conference, the HETT Show and the East Accord annual event.
Despite being a small team working under challenging and uncertain circumstances, we have influenced policy and practice by being authentic and passionate about our mission, being humble, curious and risk taking in our approach and working our socks off to play our role in developing an inclusive digitally-enabled and sustainable NHS for all.
I am privileged to lead this team of amazingly talented, highly principled and hard working people. Not just because of the incredible impact and influence they have collectively had. It is also because everyday they show up (mostly online) and support each other through the ups and downs that we have all faced this year.
Everyone at Thrive by Design knows that the other team members have their back, it is ok to admit when things aren’t going so well, to cry and to laugh and to ask for and offer help. The impact we have had and the culture of kindness embedded in our team hasn’t been down to one person, it is because every single member of the team plays their role and cares about each other and the world around them.
Standing on the shoulders of giants
I will never forget that we are standing on the shoulders of giants. What was called mHabitat and is now rebranded as Thrive by Design was founded in 2014 by the innovator that is Dr Victoria Betton. Alison and Fran, long standing members of our team, and many others put years of hard work into building this NHS design studio and we have now delivered an incredible 200 projects.
This year we welcomed Milton, Rob, Tiarnan and Lauren who have brought their own unique set of talents and ideas. Milton has blown us all away with his knowledge and vision around AI and integration, Rob has raised our marketing bar (did I mention the rebrand), Tiarnan has brought new tools and rigor to our co-design activities and Lauren has swiftly sharpened up our financial, project and capacity management focus.
Meanwhile Sanah and our team of associate data analysers and researchers including Tom and Sarah have been busy exploring evidence relating to digital exclusion and inclusion and making practical tools for integrated care systems such as a mapping and cost benefit tool. Watch this space…
A special thank you to Pete Nuckley who is off to help embed user centred design practice into the NHS at NHSX and to Gemma Lee who is off to the University of Leeds to support Alumni engagement and events. It is a joy to see people from our team flourishing and taking on new challenges and adventures.
I also want to thank other friends who have so generously supported us in the background making a huge difference to our ability to be impactful and influential: Anne Cooper, Helen Bradburn, Dawn Hanwell, Sara Munro, Ian Sharpe, Rob Webster, Mole (Laura Chapman) and Alastair Cartwright.
Looking ahead
The end of the year is a time of reflection but it is also a time to look ahead to the future. I am delighted that the very talented and principled Kirstin Blackwell has stepped up into a leadership role in our team as the Deputy Director of Inclusive Co-design and at the same time we are joined by one of the most experienced designers in inclusion and health in the country, Tim Brazier. They will be an incredibly powerful duo and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for the team as they get into the driving seats.
Thank you so much to all our collaborators and commissioners, Sarah, Alexis, Rosie, Hive IT, HMA, 100% Digital Leeds, the Yorkshire and Humber AHSN, Breid, Emma, Mat, Paul, Becky, Peter, Tim, Shelley, Nick, Jo, Pip, Alex, Lucie, Sarah A, Chyrsanthi, and so many more.
In these turbulent times, I wish you all a healthy and peaceful time over the Christmas holiday.