Enabling a seamless health data transition

What kept them up at night:

In 2020, the Prime Minister set out plans for a major reform of England’s public health system. That meant big changes for the core institutions delivering public health—and big shifts in how critical clinical systems, data and services were managed. 

Enter the HIST Programme: a £30 million initiative moving essential patient data, systems and services from Public Health England (PHE) into their rightful organisational homes—like DHSC, NHSE, and NHS Digital. It’s complex, it’s sensitive, and it’s absolutely key to reshaping how public health works across the UK.

One wrong move could disrupt health services and impact real lives.

UKHSA brought us on board to lead the delivery of the Health Improvement Services Transition (HIST) Programme.

How we helped:

At the heart of our approach? A four-stage change management journey designed to deliver clarity, continuity and long-term impact.

1. Create the Vision

This wasn’t your average restructure. The landscape was shifting constantly, with reforms rolling out in real time. So we started by getting our heads around the whole system—building relationships across the receiver organisations (ROs), mapping out challenges around data, governance, funding and more. 

From there, we co-created a shared vision:

"Health improvement data and systems should sit with the organisations best placed to use them—supporting a joined-up health and care system, and building the capabilities we’ll need for the future."

2. Plan for Change

With the vision in place, we moved to planning. Our change plan focused on five key areas:

1. Data: Make sure everyone can access the data they need. Align ownership and processing with national strategy.
2. Service: Shift UKHSA out of its default service provider role. Redefine responsibilities and keep delivery aligned.
3. Business Stability: Avoid disruption. Users should be able to do their jobs without interruption during the transition.
4. Systems & Technology: Ensure smooth access to all necessary tech. Transition systems to their new homes.
5. User Experience: Protect the user experience. Help teams feel fully integrated into their new environments.

3. Manage the Change

We rolled out change in three phases, providing coaching, mentoring and hands-on support throughout: 

Phase 1
Users with PHE devices were gradually given access to new systems to minimise friction. 

Phase 2a
Everyone moved to a single device. We migrated all Microsoft 365 data and set up Azure Virtual Desktop to keep services running smoothly—even for systems still hosted by UKHSA. 

Phase 2b
We tackled a huge data challenge: 32TB of unstructured data across millions of files and folders. Our team built a secure, IG-compliant process to migrate it to the right destinations—like Azure Files and SharePoint Online.  

4. Make it Sustainable

We didn’t just “deliver and disappear.” In the final phase (Phase 3), we continue to work alongside receiving organisations to strategically plan the full transition of systems and services out of UKHSA—ensuring they’re permanently embedded in the right place for long-term success.

The difference it made: 

• Policy functions now sit where they can make the biggest difference—within DHSC (OHID), NHSE and NHS Digital. 
• Teams are better integrated, better equipped, and more collaborative. 
• Users have the tools they need, from the right device, in the right environment. 
• There’s less dependence on UKHSA as a tech provider, saving costs and reducing complexity 

The HIST Programme wasn’t just about systems or data. It was about enabling real people to do their best work in the right places, with the right tools, and minimal disruption.

We’re proud to be helping government health institutions build for the future, not just survive the now.

If you’d like to learn more about how we help government and health organisations lead through change, let’s talk.

This piece of work was carried out by Cadence Innova before merger. We're honoured to continue this impactful work under the Transform brand going forward.