Background
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) plays a vital role in protecting the nation’s health by preventing and responding to infectious diseases and environmental hazards. A key part of this mission involves ensuring that data about post-operative infections is accurately captured and acted upon, supporting public health decision-making and improving patient care.
Historically, the post-discharge process in UK secondary care settings was heavily manual and inconsistent across organisations. Paper-based communications, delayed data collection, and a fragmented approach to escalation made it difficult to monitor post-discharge infections effectively. This lack of standardisation also resulted in a poor patient experience and placed a significant administrative burden on healthcare staff.
To address these challenges and create a more efficient, patient-centred approach, UKHSA partnered with 6B to design and develop a national, modern digital solution.
The Need
UKHSA required a technical partner to help transform the outdated post-discharge and escalation process into a streamlined, automated, and data-driven system. The previous process involved sending paper letters to patients after discharge, requesting information about possible post-operative infections. Returned letters were then manually reviewed by staff, and large numbers of non-responders had to be chased by phone — a time-consuming and inconsistent process.
Hospitals varied widely in how they managed this, resulting in inconsistent data quality and poor patient engagement. There was a clear need for a digital solution that could standardise and automate the process, improve response rates, and enhance data quality while reducing the operational workload on hospital teams.
UKHSA engaged 6B to research, design, and develop cloud-hosted .NET web applications as part of the national Digital Health Platform (DHP) ecosystem. The aim was to deliver a scalable solution that followed open data standards, ensured interoperability, and allowed dynamic patient management — all while supporting real-time reporting and enabling national oversight of post-discharge outcomes.
The Solution
Working in close collaboration with UKHSA, 6B led the end-to-end delivery of a modern .NET web platform designed specifically to meet the needs of this critical post-discharge process. The project followed a rigorous user-centred design approach, with extensive research into clinical workflows, staff requirements, and patient needs, ensuring that the resulting solution was intuitive and inclusive.
At the heart of the platform is a robust, cloud-hosted case management system that enables healthcare professionals to monitor post-discharge outcomes on a national scale. A central dashboard provides hospital staff with a live view of post-discharge status, highlighting potential infections and enabling timely interventions. Questionnaires are now automatically scheduled and sent to patients digitally, dramatically reducing delays and improving response rates.
If a patient is suspected of contracting an infection, they are securely directed to a patient-facing web application for further engagement and follow-up. The patient portal is accessible 24/7 and fully compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA standards to ensure accessibility for all users.
The application architecture follows UK Government Digital Service (GDS) standards, with a decoupled data layer to support future extensibility. It uses open data standards to ensure interoperability with other central government systems, enhancing cohesion and enabling a more holistic view of patient care.
Designed for real-time performance, the system leverages live data flows from secondary care IT systems, empowering healthcare staff to make informed decisions quickly and accurately. Geographical visualisations also give NHS Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) a clear overview of trends and operational status across regions, supporting improved coordination of care and resource planning.
By automating what was once a labour-intensive process, the new platform significantly reduces the administrative burden on healthcare staff, while delivering a faster, more consistent, and more patient-centred service.
The Impact
The implementation of 6B’s .NET web platform is transforming how post-discharge infections are monitored and managed across the UK. The new digital system has streamlined workflows, enhanced the consistency of data collection, and improved the overall patient experience.
Automated communications and a user-friendly patient portal have driven significantly higher response rates, enabling faster identification of post-operative infections and better support for affected patients. Hospital staff now have access to real-time data and powerful reporting tools, improving decision-making and reducing time spent on manual administration.
For UKHSA, the platform delivers a unified national view of post-discharge outcomes, supporting its mission to safeguard public health through timely and accurate insights. The adoption of open standards and cloud technologies ensures that the solution remains flexible and future-proof, capable of evolving alongside the wider Digital Health Platform.
Ultimately, this modern digital approach is helping to raise standards of care, improve operational efficiency, and support better health outcomes across the country.