Data into Action work recognised in first NHS Excellence Awards

A pioneering approach to using data to support proactive neighbourhood care in Liverpool has been named as a regional champion in the first NHS Excellence Awards.

The Liverpool Place Proactive Care Group work, part of the Cheshire and Merseyside Data into Action programme, has been selected as the North West regional champion in the Neighbourhood Health category.

The NHS Excellence Awards celebrates teams and projects making a real difference to patients and communities, supporting the ambitions of the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and helping to share learning across the NHS.

Andrea Astbury, Associate Director for the Data into Action strategy, said:
“This recognition is a fantastic achievement for everyone involved in the Liverpool Place Proactive Care Group work and shows what can be achieved when linked health and care data is used safely and responsibly to support proactive care.

“By helping local teams identify people who may be at higher risk of deterioration or unplanned hospital admission, we can offer support earlier, rather than waiting for people to become unwell or present in crisis.

“This is exactly what Data into Action is about: turning insight into practical improvements for patients and communities. Through this work, specialist services, primary care networks and integrated care teams are able to plan care around people’s needs, closer to home, while also helping services make better use of resources across neighbourhoods.”

The work has already had a significant impact. Telehealth caseloads increased from 250 patients in January 2024 to 2,000 by the end of 2024, with 70% of onboarding driven through enhanced case finding rather than traditional referral routes, avoiding additional GP workload.

Analysis of patients proactively onboarded into Telehealth showed reductions in:
•    A&E attendances by 28%
•    emergency admissions by 36%
•    GP encounters by 34%

The community respiratory team has also undertaken proactive COPD reviews, with 87% uptake, helping identify patients who may otherwise have relied on reactive care. Patients have been referred into services including Telehealth, spirometry, dietetics and wider respiratory support.

Integrated care teams are central to the model, bringing together community nurses, care coordinators, social care colleagues and specialist practitioners to provide holistic assessments, multidisciplinary care planning and ongoing neighbourhood-based support.

The work is also expanding into new areas, including a partnership with Prima Housing to link data to support respiratory patients living in fuel-poor homes through joint health and housing interventions – the first structured approach of its kind nationally to proactively identify and support households at risk.

The programme will now go forward to the national stage of the NHS Excellence Awards, with winners announced at NHS ConfedExpo in Manchester in June 2026.