AI
Unlock new levels of productivity with transformational solutions driven by the latest advancements in AI.
IT Solutions
Depend on us to get your organisation to the next level.
Sectors
BCN have a heritage of delivering outcomes through our cloud-first services and currently support over 1200 customers across specialist sectors.
About Us
Your tech partner
Read the recap and watch the session below
6 min read
What does it actually take to scale improvement across a health system using data?
That was the main question we wanted to cover in this session, hosted by Professor Amar Shah, National Clinical Director for Improvement in NHS England, Robert Brooks, Director of Clinical and Quality Analytics at Henry Ford Health System, and Oliver Chan, EasySPC Product Lead at BCN.
The discussion made one thing clear, this isn’t about introducing another reporting tool, it’s about changing how decisions are made across the organisation.
Most organisations have plenty of data. The challenge is knowing what it means and what to do next.
SPC helps leaders separate signal from noise, creating a shared view of performance and a more consistent approach to decision-making across teams and services.
Instead of reacting to every shift in metrics, leaders can focus on genuine change. As Robert explained, the goal is simple: answer the question, should we act?
A recurring theme was the limitation of traditional dashboards.
Dashboards tell you what is happening. They rarely tell you what to do next. Interpretation varies, ownership is often unclear, and action is inconsistent.
SPC introduces a different model. A decision system.
As Robert outlined, the difference is not the data itself. It is the way decisions are made, leading to more consistent action and accountability across the organisation.
Robert then shared a grounded view of their journey so far.
Following a major expansion, the organisation reached a scale where enterprise analytics became essential. Leaders needed a consistent way to understand performance and learn across the system, rather than in silos.
But adoption has not been straightforward.
Challenges included:
One of the most practical lessons shared was to start simple.
Rather than launching SPC across new initiatives, the advice was clear. Start with established metrics that leaders already care about, such as mortality, readmissions or infections. Build understanding and confidence there first.
One of the strongest messages from Professor Amar Shah was that SPC should not be introduced as a standalone technical solution.
At East London Foundation Trust, SPC became part of a broader quality improvement journey. It was not about rolling out charts. It was about helping teams solve real problems using better data.
That distinction matters.
When SPC is positioned as a tool, adoption is slow. When it is positioned as a way to improve care, teams engage far more quickly.
Scaling SPC is as much about leadership as it is about data.
At East London Foundation Trust, a key step was changing how data was used at board and executive level. SPC was modelled from the top, not just expected from frontline teams.
As Professor Amar Shah highlighted, when leaders change how they review data, the organisation follows.
Similarly, Robert emphasised the importance of executive sponsorship at Henry Ford Health System. Without it, driving cultural change becomes significantly harder in large organisations.
Scaling SPC also depends on getting the data foundations right.
At East London Foundation Trust, this meant bringing together multiple data sources into a single, consistent view. It required aligning data around how teams actually work and making insights accessible wherever they are needed.
As Professor Amar Shah described, this is not just a technical challenge. It is about designing analytics that support real decision-making at the point of care.
A key challenge when scaling SPC is usability.
If insights are too complex, adoption drops. The most effective organisations simplify how insight is presented so teams can act quickly.
One example shared during the session was the use of early warning indicators. Instead of reviewing multiple charts, teams are given a simple view of where signals are appearing so they can focus attention and act proactively.
This is where SPC becomes operational, not theoretical.
The session highlighted a clear path for leaders:
Underlying all of this is a mindset shift. Moving away from describing performance towards actively managing it.
As Robert Brooks put it, the goal is to move from dashboards to decision systems.
For healthcare leaders looking to drive improvement at scale, that shift is critical.
SPC is not the end goal. But when it is embedded into how decisions are made across an organisation, it becomes a powerful enabler of consistent, system-wide improvement.
If you are looking to move beyond static dashboards and embed consistent, data-driven decision making across your organisation, EasySPC makes it possible.
Designed to work within Power BI, EasySPC helps teams:
Whether you are just starting your SPC journey or looking to scale it across services, EasySPC provides the foundation to move from reporting to real decision systems.
