Cheshire and Merseyside helps to shape new health planning tool

Cheshire and Merseyside has been selected as one of just three areas in England to help develop a new strategic commissioning tool (SCT), designed to improve how health and care services are planned and delivered.

The SCT, commissioned by NHS England as part of the Federated Data Platform (FDP) initiative, uses data to help health leaders make better decisions about services.

The first version of the tool launched in June this year and is already being used locally to inform the design of new neighbourhood care models.

Andrea Astbury, Data into Action Programme Director, said: “The strategic commissioning tool offers benchmarking insight, business case design, and scenario modelling functionalities – all of which help to support smarter, more joined up planning.

“The aim is to ensure health and care systems can design services that meet the needs of whole populations, not just individual conditions.”

Work in Cheshire and Merseyside is being led by Carl Marsh, Place Director (Warrington), with clinical leadership input from both Warrington and Liverpool Clinical Directors, and with input from public health, finance, and other key teams.

The project is supported by the Data into Action programme, which has provided evaluation and change management resource, with additional input from Health Innovation North West Coast.

Training to help local teams and partners use the tool effectively will begin later this autumn 2025. Future updates will include advanced features like AI-powered evidence libraries and tools for comparing population health data and planning different scenarios.

For more information about the strategic commissioning tool and training opportunities, visit the Academy section of the website.