Strategic case

The Strategic case should explain the rationale for the proposal, including the need for intervention, alignment with strategic objectives, and evidence supporting the need for change. It sets the context, shows alignment with policy, and defines desired outcomes.

The strategic case should paint a clear picture of the importance of connectivity improvement and how it aligns with your organisation's mission to deliver high-quality healthcare services efficiently and effectively.

The following sections and content should be included.

Describe your current connectivity infrastructure landscape and any identified limitations.

Examples of connectivity limitations

Having reached capacity on fixed links.

The connectivity availability or current topology no longer meets the needs of the organisation (insufficient Wi-Fi coverage, slow download or upload speeds, or security vulnerabilities).

The current connectivity does not allow sufficient flexibility to accommodate new ways of working.

Highlight any issues raised by staff or other stakeholders, with a particular focus on those with clinical or patient impacts, such as difficulties accessing clinical systems or delays in communication.

Mention any relevant healthcare policies, local or regional digital transformation strategies, or national health guidelines, such as the 10 Year Health Plan for England, that emphasise the importance of digital infrastructure in improving patient care and operational efficiency.

Explain clearly why your existing solution needs to be replaced or enhanced. Provide 'SMART' (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) spending objectives that set out as specifically as possible what the purpose and outcomes of the work will be, in what timeframe it will be delivered, and how the outcome will be measured.

Examples of objectives

Connectivity for community staff at point of care will be improved from 40% to 60% availability by end of the financial year 2027/28. This will help enable the move from hospital to community.

All trust sites will have access to connectivity speeds of more than 100Mbps by end of the financial year 2027/28, in line with the integrated care board (ICB) Corporate 5-year plan.

This upgrade will provide seamless (uninterrupted, automatically authenticated) connectivity at all acute sites, ensuring visiting ambulance crews can update EPR records reliably and without delay.

Explain why improved network connectivity is essential for your operational efficiency. For instance, increasing fixed line connectivity resilience can reduce downtime from site outages, and enhanced Wi-Fi can support Wi-Fi calling, real time location services and access to medical data. See Applications and benefits.

Emphasise the increasing reliance on and demand for wireless connectivity for staff, patients and visitors, medical devices, mobile health applications, and electronic patient management systems.

Clearly state the objectives, such as improving patient care, increasing staff productivity, supporting digital health initiatives, and ensuring compliance with healthcare legislation, policies, and data security standards.

Highlight expected outcomes, such as faster access to medical records, enhanced communication between healthcare professionals, improved patient experience (by offering reliable public Wi-Fi), and potential cost savings through more efficient operations or shared connectivity. (Futures log in required.)

Link the proposal to your organisation's and integrated care system's (ICS’s) strategic goals, like improving service quality, enhancing digital capabilities, and meeting regulatory compliance.

Clearly link the project to supporting broader healthcare priorities, such as:

• reducing waiting times
• facilitating remote consultations to move care from the hospital to the community
• optimising resource management and use of digital services to bring efficiency savings

Provide data or case studies illustrating how improved connectivity has benefited other NHS organisations.

Future Connectivity wireless trial case studies

Future Connectivity Gigabit Pathways case studies

Include stakeholder insights from user surveys, patient feedback, or audits indicating the current system's limitations and the demand for better connectivity.

Mention any constraints and dependencies on other projects, such as upcoming IT system upgrades or digital health initiatives, which rely on robust connectivity.

Consider the growing demand for connectivity from new digital services. Show how your connectivity will be scalable and can grow and adapt to future demand, technologies, and services without requiring major redesign. 

Consider your audience - a successful strategic case is one where the reader can easily understand the logical flow from how the proposed change contributes to business objectives, then to local, and or regional, and finally national strategies.

The rationale for the change should be linked to an understandable benefit and not be explained in terms of a technical change.

Engage with business reviewers and approvers prior to submission to understand the appropriate level of technical detail.

Physical building structures and materials are often a barrier or challenge for good connectivity coverage in health settings and can act as constraints. See: Wireless infrastructure: Building guidance for health and care organisations.

Some examples of improvements could include:

• better Wi-Fi coverage, so staff and patients can get access in all areas of the site, improving staff productivity and patient experience
• improved capacity of your guest network, improving effectiveness of visiting clinicians and driving productivity
• new Wi-Fi density to support real time location systems rollouts, enabling tracking of valuable medical equipment, reducing maintenance costs
• increased flexibility and/or capacity in fixed links to support increases and decreases in capacity, and meet changes in demand
• enhanced resilience capability to increase network availability