Highly Commended
Targeting Unmet Need and Unwarranted Variation by Deploying COPD Heatmaps
Summary of work
Acute COPD exacerbations are responsible for one in eight hospital admissions in the UK. The disease is one of three responsible for 50% of health inequality and is recognised as one of five priority areas for NHSE’s Core20PLUS5 inequalities strategy.
Outcomes vary considerably geographically, adding to the burden – NHS England has previously noted that if best practice was applied in areas with above average mortality rates, over 3,000 lives a year could be saved.
As part of the ACT on COPD UK initiative – a non-promotional programme funded by AstraZeneca – NHS SCW Geospatial, MHP Group and AstraZeneca developed four sophisticated COPD Heatmaps resources to help healthcare professionals and policymakers understand the burden of COPD, as Integrated Care Systems move towards population health approaches, which are more responsive to local needs and data.
The Heatmaps, containing 33 data sets and 11 bespoke composite layers, were launched in August 2022 and are now being rolled out nationally – with strong positive feedback from senior NHS leadership, COPD clinical experts and healthcare professionals on the ground.
Judges’ comments
MHP and AstraZeneca had put together a very robust, thorough, rigorous and well indicated campaign. Targeting Unmet Need and Unwarranted Variation by Deploying COPD Heatmaps’ situation analysis and need were extremely clear, it had an excellent execution with a great process.
