The problem
Transformation projects, even if well-funded, fail if ownership over the project is ill-defined. When responsibility is vague or fragmented, progress stalls. Decisions are delayed, accountability is diluted, and frontline teams – committed to making the transformation a success – are left without direction.
In a system as complex as the NHS, where multiple organisations and providers must work in close collaboration, plus the added complexity of ongoing mergers and restructures, clarity of ownership over the delivery of neighbourhood healthcare is a necessity.
Clear ownership over a project of this scale is vital to tackle several key hurdles:
- A lead to drive implementation: Without a designated lead, digital platforms to support neighbourhood health risk becoming ‘shelfware’ (software that is unused or underutilised) and new care models may be harder to implement.
- Clear accountability: If no one is responsible for outcomes, poor or under-performance goes unaddressed.
- Confusion across teams: Frontline staff need to know who sets priorities, who provides support and who evaluates success.
This is especially critical in neighbourhood healthcare, where integration across NHS, local government, voluntary organisations, and independent providers is essential.
The solution: empowered, accountable leadership
Neighbourhood healthcare must be led by organisations with both strategic authority and operational capability.
Feedback Medical’s Neighbourhood health now: the digital roadmap for delivering neighbourhood services today white paper highlights this issue, noting that without defined leadership and empowered delivery bodies, even the best technology and funding models will fail to deliver meaningful change. It recommends that:
- Local NHS bodies should be responsible for local strategy, commissioning, and resource allocation.
- Provider collaboratives and health innovation networks should support implementation and training.
- National bodies must set clear expectations and provide funding and digital support.
What next
To overcome the challenge of ill-defined ownership, the NHS must:
- Designate clear leadership at both national and local levels.
- Empower integrated health organisations to formalise service agreements with eligible providers.
- Support digital teams with funding and resources to deploy platforms like Bleepa®.
- Use programmes like Getting it Right First Time to intervene where there are gaps in provision and to enforce standards.
To find out more information on how to deliver neighbourhood healthcare, read our whitepaper Neighbourhood health now: the digital roadmap for delivering neighbourhood services today.