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 Wi-Fi improvement and how it aligns with your organisation's mission to deliver high-quality healthcare services efficiently and effectively.

Examples of sections and content to include:

Describe your current Wi-Fi infrastructure and any identified limitations, such as insufficient coverage, slow speeds, or security vulnerabilities. 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 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.

Explain why improved Wi-Fi is essential for your operational efficiency. For instance, 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 NHS Wi-Fi), and potential cost savings through more efficient operations.

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, and optimising resource management.

Provide data or case studies illustrating how improved Wi-Fi has benefited other NHS organisations.

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 Wi-Fi.

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 Wi-Fi coverage in health settings and 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 services rollouts, enabling tracking of valuable medical equipment, reducing maintenance costs