Department of Health Estates and Facilities - Planning where to place health services
The Department of Health Estates and Facilities Management team has invested in the development of aweb based GIS driven solution that supports the local investment decisions for new and existing health facilities.
The principles are simple: by comparing demographic information (based on key local population census profiles for age, economic status, etc) with details of existing provision, the Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and local Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) can plan for current and future health needs. The evidence for such investments is essential in order to show equality of access for a local population, whether young or old, where the right services are in the right place and can adapt for tomorrow’s changing needs.
The role of the GIS solution is to visualise and prioritise the different combinations of the multiple data sets to highlight areas of specific health need in relation to current and planned service provision, from small clinics to general and specialised hospitals. Decision makers can literally see on a digital map how a specific population’s health need is matched with access, however many minutes away by walking or transport, from the services needed or planned. The apparent gaps and duplication can then be investigated and the necessary amendments made. Another crucial factor in planning service delivery is the ability to create centres of excellence for specific needs. So, rather than assuming each hospital would have a specialist ophthalmology clinic, for example, resources could be focused on a particular centre using the population demographics to show where the best location is.
This already happens to an extent, with A&E departments available at some, but not all hospitals. Where GIS delivers is in its ability to identify the services that are needed most in each area, based on demographics, and availability of similar resources elsewhere. The result is a far more integrated approach to long-term planning – and a much better use of NHS budgets based on evidence.
