Governance supporting the strategy

Digital on demand
NHS GGC

Through intensive work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and a natural maturing of our digital delivery, we have identified better ways to ensure ongoing, good governance across delivery and support of the many programmes and projects that we deliver. 

To ensure optimal governance during implementation we have put in place specific Programme Boards which are dedicated to successful scoping, planning and rollout or certain systems or solutions. These Boards report to the overarching eHealth Programme Board and eHealth Strategy Board and follow Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) methodology through development, planning, implementation and then to be supported by our Operations Team as ‘Business-As-Usual’. 

This approach gives specialists ownership of programmes whereby there is dedicated focus on successful delivery, with a handover to our operations team who are best able to maintain, update and upgrade thereafter. 

The overall governance structure has been updated to ensure input from citizens and closer alignment with HSCPs and Local Authority IT Leads plus the eHealth Partnership Forum and staff side representatives. 

Governance structure

The eHealth Strategy Board will ensure that this strategy remains in alignment with key Board priorities including the Board’s transformation programmes and the NHS Scotland national Digital Strategy, in addition to providing senior oversight to the prioritisation of the programme and its delivery. 

The remit of the Board is as follows: 

  1. Develop the digital / eHealth strategy, ensuring it is aligned and co-ordinated with key priorities, strategies, policies and wider service transformation programmes 
  2. Agrees priorities for delivery by the eHealth Programme Board; 
  3. Acts as an escalation body for issues, providing decision support to agreed programmes of work when required; and 
  4. Develops plans for significant new investments including scrutiny of business cases and associated benefits realisation plans prior to presentation to the appropriate governance body. 

The Terms of Reference have been revised and updated to include more partnership representation. 

The eHealth Strategy Board reports to the Corporate Management Team (CMT) 

The eHealth Programme Board provides visible leadership of the eHealth programme’s delivery. The Programme Board’s principle focus is to provide high-level management of the programmes sponsored by the Strategy Board, ensuring that programmes and projects are appropriately resourced and effectively communicated to affected stakeholders including clinicians and patients. 

Further advisory and programme delivery groups are responsible for the delivery of strategic projects – supported by the core skills and capabilities of the eHealth team. 

eHealth Clinical Leadership

A number of eHealth Clinical Leadership resources have been established within the Directorate including Consultant, Nursing, Midwifery and AHP professions. This allows the needs and views of stakeholders to be represented at a senior level within the eHealth team. The eHealth Clinical Leads work within the established governance and directly with health and care teams to support, facilitate and advise on the delivery of the strategy. 

There are also approximately 100 clinicians working across services who act as “Clinical Links”. Although they do not have dedicated time as the Clinical eHealth Leads do these links are an invaluable clinical voice and participate in our annual Clinical Links Event and a range of online workshops during the year to inform strategy development and advise on the delivery plan. 

 

Organisational chart of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde eHealth governance