Interweave wins HFMA award for shared NHS care record
Interweave, a shared care record platform hosted by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, has won the Delivering Value with Digital Technologies award at the HFMA National Healthcare Finance Awards.
The award recognises work on an integrated digital platform that addresses fragmented patient data across health and care organisations. The project involves three Yorkshire Integrated Care Boards and more than 74 organisations.
These organisations include health and social care providers, GP practices and care homes. The platform is NHS-owned and sits within Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.
National finance focus
The HFMA National Healthcare Finance Awards highlight finance teams and individuals across the UK. The Delivering Value with Digital Technologies category focuses on digital initiatives that reduce costs, increase productivity or improve patient care.
Interweave presents clinical staff with a unified view of a patient's care record. The platform draws information from separate systems used by GPs, hospitals, community services and social care.
Clinicians see a single, real-time view of key patient information. The trust describes this as a secure "virtual window" into existing systems.
The organisation reports that this improves the care patients receive. Clinicians access more of the information they need in one place.
Measured savings
The project team reports quantifiable benefits in system efficiency, staff time and direct patient care. The figures relate to the Humber and North Yorkshire region.
In the 2024/25 period the region recorded efficiency savings of £4.1 million. The team estimates that staff saved nearly 166,000 hours of time.
The platform also supported changes in emergency transport decisions. The trust reports more than 1,300 avoided ambulance conveyances.
Fewer ambulance journeys reduced associated carbon dioxide emissions. The project team links these outcomes to use of the shared care record.
Partnership approach
The HFMA judging panel highlighted the collaborative structure of the initiative. Judges described Interweave as a "genuine partnership" that involved finance teams across all participating organisations.
The judges also noted the model for future growth. They said other areas and regions are able to join the platform.
They observed that new partners could bring additional insight and requests. They also commented on the way access works for organisations that use the system.
The judges said they were "struck by how flexible the access was for partners utilising the platform and that the solution was seen only as an enabler, not the 'thing' in itself."
User-led governance
Interweave's design and governance sit within the NHS. A dedicated in-house team at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust delivers the platform.
The solution is owned and managed by its user organisations. These organisations hold representation on the Interweave Management Board.
Project leaders describe the initiative as user-focused. They emphasise feedback from clinicians and other staff who use the system daily.
Lee Rickles serves as Chief Information Officer at Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Programmeme Director for Interweave. He said the project team shaped its priorities around service users and staff.
"It is not designed around the technology, that is the easy bit," said Rickles, Chief Information Officer, Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust and Programmeme Director, Interweave.
Rickles said the project team concentrated on ease of use and usefulness for staff and patients.
"The driver was whether we were delivering something easy to use, intuitive and that adds value. And the feedback has been extremely positive from our users. We now hold data for 14% of the English population and are continuing to grow and benefit from increased partnerships," said Rickles.
The Interweave team plans further expansion of its shared care record footprint. The project expects growth through additional partnerships with health and care organisations in other regions.
