NECS

Tynedale Hospice at Home Clinical System Migration – North East

Lynne Cooke — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:33:22 +0000

Tynedale Hospice at Home, a Hexham-based charity, commissioned NECS to migrate their clinical records from paper to the electronic system TPP SystmOne.

The project supported multiple services including hospice nursing, dementia care, family support, transport and complementary therapies, with go-live achieved in March 2025.

The challenge

The hospice considered which type of SystmOne unit would be best for them and decided on the Palliative Care unit to streamline workflows across their service and connect to a shared, dynamic medical record to enhance overall patient care.

Staff had no prior experience with electronic records.
Paper records remained essential in some areas (e.g. patient homes, transport).
Limited rural Wi-Fi required mobile working solutions.
The hospice needed to choose the most suitable SystmOne unit – selecting Palliative Care for integration across services.
Staff training needs varied significantly by role and experience.
Installation delays impacted mobile working functionality at go-live.

Our response

A Training Needs Analysis informed bespoke training materials and schedules.
Introductory e-learning and dedicated NECS website resources supported onboarding.
Remote and in-person training was delivered to over 30 staff, supported by help guides and live support via MS Teams.
Supplementary sessions ensured full team inclusion.
Templates from local partners were adapted to hospice needs.
Weekly audit reports tracked progress.

Outcomes

The training programme delivered to the Hospice was successfully executed within the contracted time frame, with a strong focus on tailored training materials and ensured support during and after the Go-Live phase.

We adapted to project changes, including the delayed delivery of the unit and subsequent postponed go live.

Supplementary training was provided for staff unavailable during the scheduled sessions, to ensure that no team member was left behind.

Staff adopted SystmOne quickly, efficiently managing caseloads and referrals.
Access to GP and District Nurse records, safeguarding information and key codes now supports safer, more coordinated care.
Real-time record sharing and task management is improving cross-organisation collaboration.
Death notifications within the system help close records effectively and eliminate data loss.
Accurate, automated reporting is reducing reliance on Excel, streamlining operational insight.

“As a first-time user, I was initially concerned about system complexity and data sharing. However, the Superuser training was intense but clear, and the online guides are easy to follow. One-to-one in-house sessions were especially productive, allowing us to resolve issues in real time with trainer support.”

St Luke’s Clinical System Migration – South Yorkshire

Lynne Cooke — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 09:26:51 +0000

St Luke’s Hospice provides palliative care and support across Sheffield, based at their site on Little Common Lane.

Services include 24-hour care via their Inpatient centre and outpatient sessions across various specialties, such as physiotherapy and bereavement support for patients and families. Alongside this they also provide at home community nursing services throughout the region.

The organisation required a new EPR system to be used across all the services, launched, simultaneously, during one go live date in
September 2024.

St Luke’s chose to implement SystmOne to streamline workflows across their service and connect to a shared, dynamic medical record to enhance overall patient care.

In November 2023, St Luke’s Hospice commissioned NECS to provide end user training and go-live support for their migration to SystmOne.

The challenge

This project required a strong focus on developing service-specific training plans and delivering comprehensive go-live support across the hospice. Over 100 staff members, with varying levels of experience with electronic patient records (EPRs) and SystmOne, needed to be trained. Staff roles spanned multiple service lines, each with different priorities and workflows, adding complexity to both training content and delivery.

Training sessions had to be delivered over an eight week period during the summer, ensuring that staff gained the necessary skills while maintaining service delivery. Additionally, close collaboration with the established local SystmOne team at St Luke’s was essential to provide tailored support throughout the migration.

Our response

St Luke’s were allocated a Training Lead who attended regular project meetings to collaborate with St Luke’s staff, ensuring alignment on deployment plans, training requirements and methods of delivery. Discussions with key stakeholders helped shape the training strategy and organisation of resources.

We developed detailed, role-specific training materials tailored to the needs of the SystmOne Palliative Hospital Unit and St Luke’s staff. Training plans were designed to accommodate various job roles and unit-specific processes, ensuring that every staff member received relevant and practical training.

The Clinical System Training team delivered a combination of remote and on-site training over a seven-week period. In total, 40 sessions were conducted, training over 100 staff members.

We simultaneously maintained a realistic demo environment that allowed staff to practice using SystmOne in a hands-on setting. This gave employees the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the system prior to going live.

The NECS team kept detailed records of training attendance and captured feedback and questions during each session. Weekly reports were provided to St Luke’s project team, highlighting progress, areas of concern, and any frequently asked questions that required follow-up.

The Training Lead developed a detailed plan for on-site support during the go-live phase. Multiple trainers were scheduled to be present on-site to handle questions, troubleshoot issues, and provide real-time support to staff as they transitioned to using SystmOne in their day-to-day operations.

Outcomes

The training programme delivered to St Luke’s Hospice was successfully executed within the contracted time frame, with a strong focus on tailored training materials, providing hands-on practice, and ensuring support during and after the go-live phase.

Integrating unit-specific processes into training materials and advising staff on how to best navigate functionality limitations prior to go live, helped ensure that staff were equipped to work within the system’s capabilities.

Regular reporting enabled timely adjustment to the training approach based on staff feedback, ensuring that issues were addressed promptly, and that training remained relevant and effective.

We also provided supplementary training for staff who were unavailable during the scheduled sessions, to ensure that no team member was left behind in the transition to SystmOne.

When the go-live date was postponed, the team adapted quickly by creating shorter refresher modules, helping staff retain familiarity without requiring full retraining.

The onsite floorwalking support covered two weeks, with clinical system specialists available for both the Inpatient and Outpatient areas concurrently. We were able to support staff with adjustments to working with SystmOne, pivot to support with process evolutions, and collaborate with the local clinical system teams.

This successful partnership demonstrates NECS’s capability to deliver tailored training solutions and seamless support, ensuring that organisations like St Luke’s Hospice can confidently transition to modern EPR systems and continue to provide exceptional care.

“The launch has gone really smoothly, thanks to all of the training, data migration and go-live support from the NECS team.”

Marc Smith

Clinical Systems Manager, St Luke’s Hospice

Delivering Digital Inclusion Across North East & North Cumbria

Lynne Cooke — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 13:54:43 +0000

The North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Digital Inclusion Programme is driving systemic change to tackle digital exclusion and
ensure equitable access to health and care services.

Through strategic oversight, coordinated projects, and strong partnerships, the programme embeds digital inclusion across workforce practice, community support, and service design. By developing resources, identifying opportunities, and engaging the wider system, it strengthens sustainable capacity and helps bridge the region’s digital exclusion ensuring that as services move
online, no one is left behind.

The challenge

Digital exclusion in NENC is higher than the national average, with only 81% of adults reporting foundational digital skills, the lowest in England.

Delivery spans NHS organisations, local authorities, and voluntary, community, social enterprise (VCSE) partners, all operating with limited and time-bound funding.

The programme needed to:

Target funding effectively
Ensure fair and consistent decision-making
Support delivery partners with limited resources
Align digital inclusion activity with the wider system through partnerships
Raise digital inclusion awareness across workforce.

The solution

The programme operates through structured processes, guidance, and system-wide coordination to ensure funded projects are effective and accountable.

Key components include:

Streamlined Expression of Interest (EOI) process, generating 28 submissions in 25/26, with clear criteria aligned to NENC Integrated Care System (ICS) Digital Inclusion Strategy priorities.
Collaboration and knowledge-sharing initiatives, such as the NENC ICS Digital Inclusion Steering Group and the Boost Learning Academy Digital Inclusion module, to encourage joined-up working across health, local authorities, education, and the voluntary and community sector.
Development of resources and tools, including training, eLearning, and newsletters, to strengthen workforce capability and promote best practice across the region.

The results

The programme has delivered tangible results across individuals, workforce, and system-wide priorities:

Enhanced digital skills and confidence for just under 1,000 individuals through drop-ins, home visits, and community events.
Distributed almost 500 repurposed devices, increasing access to technology and capturing learning through a playbook.
Captured measurable efficiency gains via the Great North Care Record: 7,400 accesses saved £8,308 of staff time.
Exceeded workforce training targets, with Digital Inclusion packages piloted in Gateshead and Newcastle, engaging 167 participants in six months, with 96% recommending the training to colleagues.
Doubled the NENC ICS Digital Inclusion Steering Group membership to over 60 representatives, strengthening regional collaboration and motivation.
Reached thousands through the partnership with Foundation of Light’s high-profile NHS App awareness campaign at Sunderland’s Football Club Stadium and the Beacon of Light.
Streamlined a new version of the Digital Exclusion Heatmap and contributed to the National Digital Exclusion Risk Atlas to support targeted approaches.
Delivered inclusive training initiatives on Boost Learning Academy, such as deaf awareness training and with unlimited potential for wider adoption.
Across projects, 31 volunteers were recruited and trained in digital inclusion, creating a network that strengthens skills, boosts digital confidence, and amplifies regional impact.
Published an interactive Digital Inclusion Awareness eLearning for workforce across the North East and Yorkshire, with potential for national adoption and mandatory training.
Developed a monthly programme newsletter to strengthen shared learning and highlight upcoming regional events.

Looking ahead

The ambition for the upcoming years is to move beyond time-limited projects and embed digital inclusion as a core principle of service design and delivery.

Key priorities include:

Working with Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to support inclusive digital service design.
Aligning with NHS England frameworks to embed equity from the outset utilising resources such as the National Digital Inclusion Risk Atlas and the NENC ICS Digital Exclusion Heatmap.
Strengthening environmentally sustainable approaches, including device repurposing programmes for regional adoption with health partners.
Embedding digital inclusion and sustainability expectations within contracts, policies, and commissioning, reducing reliance on short-term funding.

“The Digital Inclusion PMO have been a pleasure to work with, their impact has reached beyond the North East and North Cumbria, they have openly shared resources and learning with North East and Yorkshire system partners, the training module and resources on Boost have been particularly helpful to others in the NEY Digital Inclusion Peer Support Network. They have been professional, optimistic and people are very clearly at the heart of everything they do.”

Vic Grainger, Senior Digital Primary Care Manager – NHS England

“I just wanted to take a moment to share a heartfelt thank you for the continued partnership and support from the PMO team this year. Your friendly, supportive and approachable way of working, alongside the creativity and clear passion you bring to the digital inclusion mission, makes partnership working both effective and genuinely enjoyable.”

Stella Simbo, Newcastle Digital Inclusion in Health and Social Care Project Manager, Connected Voice

Accelerating GP website assessments with AI

Lynne Cooke — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 14:26:47 +0000

The Practice Level Support (PLS) programme facilitated by NECS Digital Transformation & Optimisation Service (DTOS) involved 12 on-site visits to enrolled GP practices by a Facilitator. The programme gave the opportunity to assess GP practice websites. Traditionally, this assessment could be done using NHS England’s usability and accessibility guidelines or by using an Excel-based benchmarking tool, also issued by NHS England.

Instead, by using Copilot to analyse homepage screenshots in desktop and mobile views, a significant reduction in assessment time compared to manual reviews was achieved, enabling faster support for practices.

The challenge

GP practice websites are an important patient access point, but there are websites that do not meet NHS England’s usability and accessibility standards. NHS research highlighted that patients use GP practice websites for core tasks such as making or changing appointments, requesting repeat prescriptions, getting sick notes, accessing test results, registering with a practice, and finding contact details like phone number, opening times, and address.

Traditionally, assessments of GP practice websites relied on manual reviews or an Excel-based benchmarking tool, which were time-consuming. Such assessments were also subjective, with levels of compliance open to interpretation. This slowed down the PLS Facilitators ability to identify any issues and highlight improvements to these vital journeys quickly.

The solution

Copilot is a conversational AI assistant that is part of Microsoft 365 and is used in the NHS to helps users with tasks, streamline workflows and automate routine actions.

The Facilitator used Copilot’s AI capabilities to assess GP practice website homepages. Screenshots of each site in desktop and mobile view were uploaded, and Copilot analysed them against NHS England’s guide, Creating a highly usable and accessible GP website for patients. This automated approach replaced manual assessments and Excel-based benchmarking, reducing complexity and improving consistency. The process was simple: capture screenshots, upload them to Copilot, and receive structured feedback aligned with standards.

Copilot was asked “Using the guide in this URL, please assess this home page in desktop and mobile views https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/creating-a-highly-usable-and-accessible-gp-website-for-patients/”.
This innovation allowed the Facilitator to complete assessments in minutes rather than hours, freeing up time for direct support to practices in other areas.

Sample of a Copilot generated home page assessment, showing recommended fixes

The results

The AI-based assessment saved a lot of time and focused on the things that matter most to patients. It concentrated on the main tasks patients choose to complete on a website, such as booking or changing appointments, ordering repeat prescriptions, getting sick notes and test results, registering with the practice, and finding contact details. This meant that any improvements were aimed at the areas with the biggest impact.

Manual reviews usually take 30–60 minutes per website, but Copilot completed each assessment in well under 5 minutes. It quickly highlighted where websites were not meeting expectations for these key tasks. This freed up the PLS Facilitator’s limited time to focus on other parts of the programme.

Method	Average Time	Time Saved	Efficiency Gain
Manual Review	30–60 mins	0 mins	Baseline
Copilot-Assisted	5–10 mins	25–55 mins	≈83%

Time saved using Copilot for home page assessments

The feedback provided was clear, practical, and consistent with NHS England standards, helping to keep assessments impartial.
Practices received results more quickly along with focused recommendations, which could help improve patient access and experience.
Overall, this showed how digital tools can speed up assessments and support improvements to patient journeys in the PLS programme.

Find out more

Email us at necsu.wearedtos@nhs.net or find out more at https://bit.ly/4kRt9L4

“Using Copilot transformed my assessment workflow. What used to take hours now takes minutes, allowing me to give more time to other areas where practices require support.”

Chris Pattison

Business Analyst, DTOS

Supporting general practices to understand demand and optimise capacity

Lynne Cooke — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:46:40 +0000

NECS National DTOS Team played a pivotal role in supporting a national initiative to embed Business Intelligence Demand and Capacity solutions within Primary Care on behalf of NHS England. The focus was on creating a comprehensive toolkit designed to support successful implementation in General Practice.

Published on NHS Futures, this toolkit offers practical guidance, including core principles, optimisation strategies, common pitfalls, best practice recommendations, and real-world examples.

To ensure its relevance and effectiveness, the team worked closely with a pilot group, incorporating their feedback to refine the resources. Through this collaborative approach, the team established a structured, evidence-based framework for adopting Demand and Capacity solutions across Primary Care.

The challenge

Prior to the project, many practices were implementing Demand and Capacity solutions without the necessary business change support to maximise their effectiveness. This lack of structured guidance meant that practices often struggled to understand how to integrate the tools into their operational workflows.

As a result, functionality was underutilised, and the intended benefits such as improved planning, resource allocation, and patient flow were not being realised. The absence of clear principles, best practice frameworks, and practical support created inconsistencies in adoption and limited the overall impact of the national initiative.

The solution

To address the challenges, a comprehensive toolkit was designed to optimise the use of Demand and Capacity tools in Primary Care. The toolkit included three core components: Basic Principles, outlining key concepts, best practice guidance, and essential terminology to build a strong foundation; a Case Study Catalogue, featuring real-world use cases grouped by themes such as Appointment Demand, Avoidable Appointments, Continuity of Care, Reattendance within 7 days, Signposting, Workforce Planning, and Wound Care; and Resources and Templates, providing practical guidance, policy documents, and links to research and support materials.

Implementation involved close collaboration with the national team and a pilot group of practices actively undergoing business change, ensuring the toolkit was informed by real operational insights. Each Practice had varying levels of digital maturity with some resistance to change. These challenges were managed by creating an open dialogue with key stakeholders early, providing hands-on support and iteratively refining the toolkit based on their user experiences and valued feedback.

The results

As a result of the project, practices moved from fragmented and inconsistent use of Demand and Capacity tools to a structured, evidence-based approach. This change improved operational planning and resource allocation, enabling practices to better match capacity to patient demand. For patients, this translated into improved access to appointments, reduced waiting times, and more continuity of care.

Staff benefited from clearer processes, reduced administrative burden, and data-driven insights that supported workforce planning and workload management. Services became more efficient, with timely data informing decisions on staffing models and service design.

Ongoing benefits include the ability to use historic trends for future planning, maintain data consistency across practices, and meet national reporting requirements. Ultimately, the toolkit has created a sustainable framework that supports continuous improvement in patient access and service delivery across Primary Care.

“…appreciated from the first session this was not going to be a tick box exercise, and that the work they would be doing within the programme would be tailored to meet the needs of the practice…”

Oliver Bostock

Digital Transformation Lead, Ramsgate PCN on behalf of Summerhill Surgery

Digital Records, Better Care: Transforming Social Care Delivery

NECS — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:07:34 +0000

The Digitising Social Care programme (DiSC) supported adult social care providers to adopt digital technology and improve the quality and safety of care delivery across Cheshire and Merseyside.

NECS was approached following the successful delivery of the programme in the North East. By promoting Department of Health and Social Care funding and supporting implementation of digital social care records and development of digital skills, the initiative helped improve efficiency, reduce administrative burden, and strengthen interoperability with NHS systems nationwide.

The challenge

Many adult social care providers across Cheshire and Merseyside continued to rely on paper-based care records, creating inefficiencies and limiting the ability to share information safely and consistently. This made it harder for staff to access up-to-date care information, increased administrative workload, and reduced time available for direct care. Digital maturity varied widely across the sector, and many providers were unsure how to begin adopting digital solutions or access available funding.

Nationally, NHS England set an ambition for 80 per cent of Care Quality Commission registered providers and 80 per cent of individuals in social care settings to have a Digital Social Care Record in place by March 2025. Local authorities needed additional capacity and structured support to engage providers, explain eligibility requirements, and guide them through the funding application process. Addressing these challenges was essential to improve care quality, safety, and integration with wider health systems.

The solution

The NECS Digitising Social Care Delivery Team worked in partnership with Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board and Local Authority leads from Liverpool City Council, Sefton Council, and St Helens Borough Council. Using a digital baseline list supplied by local authorities, the team contacted Care Quality Commission registered care providers by phone and email to raise awareness of Digital Social Care Record funding and explain the benefits of digital care planning.

Support included:

Collating application packs
Securely sharing documentation with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) project team
Clarifying eligibility requirements, including Data Security and Protection Toolkit standards and NHS-accredited email use.

Delivery was managed remotely, with progress tracked via a Master Supplier Tracker and reviewed monthly with local authorities. At project completion, all documentation and data were returned to local authorities to support ongoing oversight and sustainability.

The results

The programme contributed to increased adoption of Digital Social Care Records across Liverpool, Sefton, and St Helens, supporting improved efficiency and information sharing across the adult social care sector. A total of 26 care providers across Cheshire and Merseyside were supported to submit successful funding applications and went on to receive funding to implement digital care planning systems.

Providers that had already implemented Digital Social Care Records reported a wide range of benefits. hese included time savings, reduced administrative burden, and significant reductions in the use of paper records. Improved access to digital care information supported better collaboration with colleagues and relatives, enabling more coordinated and responsive care. Providers also reported increased confidence in managing and analysing care data.

Early evidence showed improved integration with NHS systems, supporting safer information sharing and better continuity of care. By reducing time spent on paperwork, staff were able to focus more on people receiving care. Ongoing work continues to strengthen interoperability and digital skills, with long-term benefits expected for efficiency, safety, and quality across adult social care.

“I am extremely grateful for all your support and diligence throughout this process. You have made a real difference to us as a small startup company and in turn to the people we support.”

Andy Kershaw

Owner/Director, Support Resolution

New: Digital Inclusion awareness training

NECS — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 12:58:23 +0000

Are you clear on what digital inclusion really means in practice?

Do you know how you can help reduce digital exclusion in your role?

Do you work in health and care supporting people in your local community?

The North East and North Cumbria ICB Digital Inclusion team has developed a new Digital Inclusion Awareness training module for colleagues working across health and care.

This engaging training explores:

What digital inclusion means in practice
The barriers preventing people from accessing digital services
Practical strategies to reduce digital exclusion
How digital inclusion supports equitable access to health and care services.

Whether you’re supporting, delivering, commissioning or managing services, this training will help build your confidence and understanding in addressing digital barriers within our communities.

Find out more about the training here

Access the training via the Boost Learning Academy (account sign-up required).

Practice Optimisation – South Yorkshire ICB

NECS — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 12:44:36 +0000

South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) partnered with the NECS Clinical Systems Specialist team to optimise operations across 10 GP practices using SystmOne and EMIS.

The project focused on streamlining clinical workflows, improving system configurations, identifying inefficiencies and delivering targeted training, while addressing patient-specific challenges.

The challenge

Gaining a clear understanding of existing processes of the practice and evaluate what each practice needed from the optimisation day.
Coordinating complex remote Training Needs Analysis (TNA) reviews with 10 individual practices, over a six week period.
Building effective collaborative relationships with multiple staff across a wide geographic area while ensuring equitable time allocation.
Managing our training resource with the practices to efficiently supply the support required.
Collaborating with the ICB staff, providing regular updates and developing their staff experience.

Our response

Identify where support was required by evaluating the returned Training Needs Analysis forms.
Identify and utilise specific functionalities within SystmOne and EMIS to streamline processes.
Review and adjusted system configuration that align with best practice standards.
Coordinated optimisation sessions based on practice availability and scheduling preference. Schedule and plan optimisation dates in accordance with practices preferences and availability.

Outcomes

Conducted site visits to all 10 practices within the project’s six week window, providing flexible real time support through drop-in sessions and tailored to staff needs. over six weeks. We provided on-site drop-in sessions, adapting to questions and requests in real time, and providing custom support.
Time savings: the automation of the clinical system reduced the time required for practice processes, allowing staff to complete tasks in a more efficient manner.
Process robustness: the enforced completion of each step in the process ensured that no important steps were missed, thereby improving the reliability and data quality.
User-friendly training: the training was designed to be personal and tailored to individuals and the practice, allowing for
flexibility while still guiding users through a structured and cohesive process.

“The trainer was lovely and a valuable asset to your company, very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful, no question feels a ‘silly’ one. She has patience and spends time with everyone who needs her whilst explaining how to do something on SystmOne. Thank you.”

“Reassurance that we were doing things correctly and clarification that I understand the system. Brilliant support.”

PCN GP Connect Utilisation Project – North East

NECS — Mon, 09 Feb 2026 12:50:25 +0000

NECS was approached by GreaterMiddlesbrough PCN in April 2024 to discuss clinical systems support aimed at improving
interoperability across the PCNs mixed clinical systems.

Greater Middlesbrough PCN comprises of eight GP units, three on EMIS Web and five on SystmOne and were having to access every unit daily to utilise shared working clinics hosted across the PCN. They were keen to explore alternatives that would
eliminate the inefficiencies and time delays caused by repeatedly logging in and out of multiple systems.

Their goal was to understand how GP Connect could streamline workflows, save time in practice and improve efficiency for their clinical systems.

The clinical system specialist team at NECS was able to offer the PCN a variety of support options, at different levels, starting with a basic suite of user guides, to a more comprehensive package involving time to be used to test and consult on the functionality and devise a custom package of training materials for the PCN.

Middlesbrough PCN opted to go for the three day package, and we began collaborating with their Digital and Transformation Lead to initiate investigations and a strategy for implementing GP Connect.

The challenge

GP Connect functionality can be complex to explore as you need live spine-enabled patients and live units with full GP connect functionality and sharing agreements in place. It is also an area of GPIT that has been expanding and evolving since the initial functionality was developed. They have added new elements such as Third-Party Record Integration, and Consultation Messaging which has not been widely tested or adopted.

As there was some uncertainty over what GP connect could offer, the PCN had not agreed how much functionality they would be utilising, so we began the project with several potential levels that we wanted to work towards. The GPs wanted to alleviate appointment workload for their admin team who were managing the shared working bookings across the eight units.

The PCN wanted to make the process quicker and easier for their clinical team to access patient records and complete consultations for patients attending from any GP at the PCN. They also wanted to provide a consistent process across the whole PCN, making systems more universal and easier to manage for everyone.

It sounded like GP Connect could give them the results they were looking for, but it would need to work across a variety of scenarios and provide a solution that saved time but also still maintained relevant, comprehensive and efficient patient service.

Our response

Once the PCN lead had secured the necessary sharing agreements, and attained a spine enabled test patient, we were able to proceed with scoping out current GP connect usage. Our initial investigations allowed us to review the setup and optimise the configuration to ensure consistency across the PCN. As we progressed, however, it was clear that both systems would behave slightly differently. We had to collate differences and make sure we were adapting plans to suit both. We quickly identified how appointment booking functionality could be optimised to improve efficiency for both PCN and GP teams.

Building on this, we were able to consider the other aspects of GP connect. We started testing the functionality for record sharing via the Third-Party Integration setup which led to an exploration of necessary sharing consents. Once we were happy we’d explored the elements, we looked at the last stage of the patient contact which was data entry and communicating actions back to the home GP unit. We were able to test out the consultation messaging service which allowed us to send an electronic document version of the consultation to the clinical system workflow.

As we determined how GP connect could be utilised, the CSS allocated to the project produced a demonstration of the functionality for the PCN board so they could decide on the path for the PCN. NECS also created four separate training videos to cover both clinical systems and the new GP connect processes for the booking GP unit and the PCN clinical staff.

Outcomes

This projet gave us an excellent opportunity to explore the GP connect functionality currently available and assess what would be useful to a PCN trying to develop their interoperability and a consistent approach across a mixed clinical system group.

We evaluated functionality boundaries, such as the registration timeframe and the potential impact on service delivery. We examined registration types in relation to GMS contract, EMIS appointment restrictions and slot / rota configuration preferences in SystmOne.

Furthermore, we assessed the available record access, and how actions would fit around the GP connect mode. The PCN now has a more robust grasp of what GP Connect can provide for their service. They can choose how to instigate the functionality and new
processes at a time to suit their practice and PCN needs.

As a result of our investigations, the PCN will be adopting the appointment booking functionality, with an aim of returning to the record access and consultation messaging functionality for suitable clinics soon.

Hopefully both GP connect and the clinical system suppliers will continue to evolve their functionality to accommodate PCN working, so it can be more effectively utilised in the future.

“The support received from NECS was crucial to this project and gave us the knowledge needed to proceed with the GP Connect project in the way that most suited our PCN and configuration. Jo was well informed, approachable and friendly, helping with all aspects of the project including testing, config, meeting with practice managers over Teams, and production of resources (video and documents) for reception teams who would be booking the appointments across the PCN.

“The project was well thought out from beginning to end and we tried different configurations over the course of the project to see what would work best for our setup.”

Mike Corner

Digital and Transformation Lead, Greater Middlesbrough PCN

NECS achieves top-level NHS finance accreditation

NECS — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 15:03:41 +0000

NECS has been awarded Level 3 of the NHS Finance Towards Excellence Accreditation, the highest level available, proving the exceptional standards our finance team perform to.

The accreditation, awarded by the NHS Finance Leadership Council, recognises organisations that demonstrate the highest standards in financial leadership, workforce development and professional capability. This demonstrates that we have the right people with the right skills to manage public money properly in a health system under constant pressure.

NECS previously held Level 2, which already placed us well above most organisations. Reaching Level 3 means it has now been independently assessed as having:

A highly capable and well-developed finance workforce
Strong leadership and succession planning
Clear investment in training, development and professional standards
A culture that supports continuous improvement and financial excellence

The Towards Excellence framework has three progressive levels and organisations must evidence everything from staff capability and leadership to governance, resilience and long-term sustainability. Accreditation lasts for three years and requires ongoing commitment to maintain standards.

A Level 3 finance function gives NHS partners confidence that budgets are being managed intelligently, risks are being spotted early, and decisions are being made with a deep understanding of both money and patient care.

Our strong finance team allow us to plan services better, invest smarter and avoid waste.

Well done to the team!

Find out more about the accreditation: Towards Excellence Accreditation