LAUSR

Operational Delivery Networks (ODN) are formal structures in which providers, commissioners and patients work together to optimise healthcare. ODNs were launched in the UK in April 2013 following the publication of the National Health Service (NHS) strategy paper, ‘Developing Operational Delivery Networks: The Way Forward’.1 The success of an ODN is measured by: ODNs were pioneered by the neonatal services where networked neonatal care increased the proportion of premature infants (27–28 weeks’ gestation) born in centres with the highest volume of specialist care (18%–49%) and reduced the percentage of babies undergoing acute postnatal transfer (7% vs 12%, p<0.001).2 ODNs have also been successfully implemented in adults: the London Stroke Centres Network Acute Care Model delivered a 12% relative reduction in deaths and an average cost saving of £811 per patient, resulting in a total benefit of £5.2 million per year.3 Centralisation of …