East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH) has been named regional champion for Digital Innovation in the NHS Excellence Awards.

The social enterprise, which has its headquarters in Lowestoft, provides NHS community services across Norfolk and Suffolk.

In recent years it has invested significantly in improving patient access to services through digitisation. This has included initiatives such as creating free self-help apps for people needing physiotherapy and cardiac rehabilitation, as well as introducing online self-referral and booking processes so patients can book and amend appointments at times to suit their needs. 81% of referrals to the MSK Physiotherapy Service now come through digital channels with patient referrals reviewed within 48 hours and exercises issued so they can start their rehabilitation. Non-attendance for appointments has reduced from 13% to 7.8%.

ECCH has also invested in remote monitoring of patients by an AI ‘coach’ through a device which can record data such as mobility, sleep and hydration in a patient’s own home and prompt them to take action when necessary. Ambient Voice technology now helps clinicians by recording some patient appointments and automatically producing notes of the meeting. This saves clinicians valuable time. Electronic prescribing and patient record-keeping means ECCH clinicians can prescribe medication direct to a patient’s favoured pharmacy and share information with colleagues and a patient’s GP whether they are working on an inpatient ward, in a clinic or in a patient’s home.

The NHS Excellence Awards recognise outstanding practice linked to the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan which highlights the importance of technology for a modern and efficient NHS which empowers people to take care of their health. Ten awards were given in total with more than 200 entries submitted by NHS organisations across the East of England region.

ECCH will now progress to the national finals, with winners announced at the NHS ConfedExpo conference in June.

Regional director for the NHS in the East of England, Clare Panniker, said: "A key purpose of the NHS Excellence Awards is to highlight best practice and encourage other NHS organisations to adopt these approaches in their own work. These champions represent the very best of the NHS in the East of England. They show a deep commitment to improving patient outcomes and looking after our incredible workforce.”

ECCH’s Chief Executive Adele Madin said: “We’re thrilled to receive this award, we are really proud of our Digital Health team, our staff and our services. They have had these great ideas for digital transformation and put them into practice, with impressive results. We encourage all our colleagues to be innovative and we’re always looking for new ways to enhance our services. Our aim is to make them easier to access while improving the working day for our busy teams. To win an award for it is the icing on the cake.”