Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs) work in partnership with commissioners (including local government), supporting their decision making and strategic planning. Our overall aim is to address local variation and inequalities in health outcomes and experience across the four condition areas, which are identified in ‘The NHS Outcomes Framework 2011/12: as areas where major health challenges and inequalities exist:

• Cardiovascular (including cardiac, stroke, renal and diabetes);
• Maternity, Children and Young People;
• Mental Health, Dementia and Neurological Conditions
• Cancer

These are the first four national conditions specific SCNs established.  The Government’s expectation is SCNs will bring about:

• large scale change across very complex pathways of care involving many professional groups and organisations and best approach to planning and delivering services; and
• coordinated, combined improvement approaches to overcome healthcare challenges, which have not responded previously to other improvement efforts

In this way, the SCNs will:

• Reduce unwarranted variation in health and well-being services.
• Encourage innovation in how services are provided now and in the future.
• Provide clinical advice and leadership to support their decision making and strategic planning.

The Wessex SCNs are working to deliver transformational change in key areas of major health and well-being challenges to improve outcomes and experience for our local population.

Our focus

Our work is driven by improving patient outcomes.  Specifically these domains from the NHS Outcomes Framework:

Domain 1: Preventing people from dying prematurely.

Domain 2: Enhancing the quality of life for people with long-term conditions.

Domain 3: Helping people to recover from episodes of ill-health or following injury.

All improvements are underpinned by these additional domains:

Domain 4: Ensuring that people have a positive experience of care.

Domain 5: Treating and caring for people in a safe environment and protecting them from avoidable harm.

Areas of major healthcare and wellbeing challenges

Strategic Clinical Networks: We support areas of major healthcare and wellbeing challenge where a whole system, integrated approach is needed to achieve a real change in quality ad outcomes of care for patients.

Clinical Senate: To provide strategic independent advice and guidance to support commissioners to make the best decisions about healthcare for the populations they represent.