Dr Foster Intelligence | Case studies

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Success stories

We were guided by the Intelligent Commissioning Board report. Is has been the key document we have used as a method to transform our board business.

Kathy Reade Chair

Dashboard style reporting

The use of dashboards has become a much sought-after goal in the NHS. The success of the dashboard approach lies in its simple presentation of information.

The board of East Lancashire PCT has found that by changing the way it reviews information, in response to the Intelligent Commissioning Board report, it has fuelled more challenging and useful discussions about performance.

Victoria Robertson, director of corporate services, explains. "For the new PCT last year, there was a need to provide board members, particularly the non-executive directors, with high-level strategic information that was easy to digest but in-depth enough to provide all the information they needed.

"I thought about what had gone before, which was lengthy finance reports, with little by way of visuals or graphics to illustrate what was being said. They pre-supposed a degree of knowledge and understanding of NHS finance and commissioning systems that I don’t think we have any right to expect people to have. Just understanding the language itself can be difficult."

Robertson wanted to move towards a reporting framework that was more visual in terms of tables, graphs and a traffic-light system - the dashboard effect.

Solution

"We took the framework set out in the Intelligent Commissioning Board report as a starting point and looked at the sample agendas and thought this was fine, but we need to do what we can do and start slowly. To begin with, we concentrated on what we thought were the most important reports, which for us are the finance reports and performance reports."

Since then, the PCT's directors of finance and commissioning have developed reports that now include graphics, more visual information and a dashboard for the front end of these reports - similar to a model presented in the reports.

"We have been presenting them to the board and we have been refining them on a monthly basis, taking on board comments from the NEDs, including any additional information that they wanted, changing the format. It’s a living document and will continue to evolve. We are getting there now," adds Robertson.

Outcome

Other departments are now adopting the dashboard style for their reports, she says, which still contain all the detailed data for people to drill down to, if they wish.

"The benefit is that now the board gets improved information both in terms of quantity and quality. They understand it better which in turn generates more discussion. We have a highly informed board with individuals who are willing to challenge us on issues."

Kathy Reade, chair of the PCT, agrees that reviewing how the board uses information has revolutionised its approach:

"It's now much easier for the board to hone in on the key issues around performance in terms of both patient care and financial performance. Previously, we used to have very long, detailed reports that you would have to search through for the key issues.

"Now we have a more streamlined focus and more business-like approach. We were guided by the Intelligent Commissioning Board report. It has been the key document we have used as a method to transform our board business. The report has been our guide and has allowed us to become more business focused, better commissioners, and better listeners to patients' experience."

Tool

The Intelligent Commissioning Board report