The Christie NHS Foundation Trust is the largest single site cancer centre in Europe and the first in the UK to be accredited as a comprehensive cancer centre.
As one of only three specialist cancer trusts in England, the Christie’s researchers are working on around 900 clinical trials and studies at any one time and collaborate with major institutions like the University of Manchester and Cancer Research UK.
Challenges
As a pioneer in both research and care, the Christie had relied on an in-house electronic patient record (EPR) system originally built by clinicians and staff in 2011.
While the system had served the Trust well for many years, increasing demands, advances in digital healthcare and the sheer scale of activity meant it was reaching the limits of what it could deliver.
The Trust’s leadership recognized the importance of fully understanding their clinical and operational pathways in detail before making decisions about future systems.
Because of the Trust’s scale and complexity, departments had naturally developed different ways of working, with processes that varied across teams.
This created an opportunity to build consistency, visibility and efficiency across the organization. The Christie worked with Differentis, a specialist partner of Netcall, focusing on the implementation of Liberty Spark, our process mapping and improvement solution.
The Solution
Differentis helped the Christie map its clinical pathways and processes through a comprehensive, hands-on mapping exercise. Working directly with admin staff, nurses, and clinicians across all major patient pathways, the team drove quality improvement by:
- Mapping care pathways that revealed how processes worked in practice and how systems connected.
- Identifying breakdowns and opportunities to make life easier for staff and improve patient experience.
- Tracking every form and piece of patient data to show which were most critical across pathways.
The mapping highlighted the complexity of the Christie’s pathways – often operating in isolation. Real-time, collaborative mapping gave staff visibility of workflows, surfaced valuable insights, and engaged teams not previously involved in such initiatives.
“Differentis has really helped us to clearly understand our patient pathways, breaking down a daunting process into easy-to-understand maps. The outputs surpassed my expectations, especially the data insights they provided.” – Beth Allen, Senior Digital Implementer, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust
In partnership with Differentis, the Christie used Liberty Spark to deliver a large-scale process mapping project, documenting 70+ processes from referral to discharge and applying detailed analysis to priority areas. This became the foundation of the new Business Process Centre of Excellence.
They identified 99% of all form submissions, 2.8 million in total, giving the Trust full visibility of its data landscape for the first time. The analysis revealed key opportunities to improve user experience:
- 30% of forms were low value and could be streamlined or retired
- Around half had direct clinical benefit
- Simplifying form use achieved a 50% reduction in manual data entry
By improving form design, the Christie reduced duplication and admin burden, freeing more time for patient care.
All mapped processes are now live in Liberty Spark, supporting continuous analysis and improvement. In just four months, the Christie created a strategic asset that will guide years of transformation and system development.
What began as a discovery project has evolved into a roadmap for lasting change. With clear visibility, modern tools, and engaged teams, the Christie is now positioned to deliver on its Future Christie vision – making cancer care more connected, responsive, and personalized.
The Result
- 4-month timeline to map the entire hospital pathways (estimated 18+ months using traditional methods)
- 9 major pathways comprehensively documented
- 80+ stakeholders engaged and interviewed
- 70+ detailed process maps created
- 100% process validation achieved through stakeholder sign-off
- Identified opportunity for 50% reduction in manual data entry for Nursing staff
- Immediate ROI through cancelled software licenses and improved efficiency.
“The work that we did with Differentis in Liberty Spark is the foundation of transformational change. It will effectively be a cornerstone for the “Future Christie” transformation program,” said Alistair Reid-Pearson, Chief Information Officer, The Christie Foundation NHS Trust
This blog post has been re-published by kind permission of Netcall – View the Original Article
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Author: Netcall
Reviewed by: Jo Robinson
Published On: 22nd Oct 2025
Read more about - Industry News, Case Studies, Netcall
