Peer-First Personalisation in the NHS: Connecting People, Not Replacing Them

9 Jul

As part of Services Week 2026 and following on from our successful Alpha into value-based procurement with DHSC, we ran a webinar hosted by Simon Worthington to explore digital service personalisation through building professional networks between peers. You can also download the slides.

I’m Simon Worthington, Product Manager for the Compass project during its Alpha phase. In collaboration with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), we explored how the NHS could improve its procurement of medical technology. Our aim was to help clinicians and procurement teams make better decisions with information that reflects real-world needs.

The scale of NHS medtech procurement

The NHS purchases a vast array of medical technology, from MRI and dialysis machines to insulin pumps, glucose monitors, and breathing apparatus for conditions like sleep apnoea. Over two million products are registered for use, and annual spending reaches £10 billion. Optimising even one percent of that figure could lead to £100 million in savings or improved patient outcomes.

Yet, procurement professionals face constant pressures:

• Balancing budgets and patient outcomes – Financial constraints force tough decisions.

• Verifying supplier claims – Marketing promises often lack clear real-world validation.

• Limited time to evaluate products – Annual budget cycles can force hasty purchases without full trials.

These challenges create an information vacuum. Much of the knowledge needed to make the best decisions already exists within the NHS, but it is fragmented and inaccessible.

Moving beyond pre-personalised content

Our initial concept resembled the Which? consumer guide: curated product tables with key metrics, performance scores, and price comparisons. While this approach works for vacuum cleaners or washing machines, medtech procurement proved more complex. Device performance varies dramatically depending on clinical pathways, patient cohorts, and local infrastructure. A one-size-fits-all comparison table would never meet the needs of diverse NHS trusts.

We realised that true personalisation was essential. Procurement decisions had to reflect local contexts—what works for one trust, team, or patient population may not work for another.

The limits of centralised personalisation

We explored the idea of centralised personalisation, including AI and machine learning to provide tailored recommendations. However, this approach quickly hit a wall:

• Central sources like NICE and national registries capture only a fraction of the insights clinicians need.

• Critical real-world experience—such as implementation challenges, training requirements, and supply chain reliability—resides in local trusts or in clinicians’ heads.

• Gathering all that knowledge centrally at scale was impractical.

Even the most advanced AI is only as good as the data it can access. Without comprehensive real-world inputs, centralised personalisation would always fall short.

A peer-to-peer solution

Instead, our research led us to a simple but powerful insight: clinicians and procurement professionals prefer to learn from their peers. They want to talk with people who have already evaluated, procured, and implemented a medtech product.

We designed the Compass service to facilitate exactly that:

• Users search for medical technologies by product, supplier, or category.

• They see which NHS trusts have procured or trialled the product.

• Shared documents—business cases, evaluations, and case studies—provide context.

• Most importantly, users can contact peers directly via email or phone to discuss real-world experiences.

By connecting people with existing, trusted knowledge, we enable personalisation without centralising every piece of evidence.

Why local decision-making matters

This peer-to-peer approach offers three major benefits:

1. Scalable personalisation – Each interaction is tailored to the user’s local needs without requiring a massive central database.

2. Preserved clinical autonomy – Decision-making stays with the trusts and clinicians who understand their own contexts best.

3. Practical knowledge sharing – Lived experiences, such as lessons learned during implementation, are finally accessible.

Rather than replace existing informal networks like WhatsApp groups or professional forums, Compass strengthens and democratises them—especially for junior staff without established contacts.

Lessons learned during our Alpha

Our alpha phase taught us three key lessons:

1. Personalisation requires access to the right data – Tools and AI won’t help if the underlying evidence doesn’t meet users’ real needs.

2. Peer networks are powerful – Enabling conversations between trusts unlocks the most valuable insights.

3. Local-first decision making scales best – Respecting clinical expertise while supporting collaboration creates a sustainable model.

We are now moving into beta, working with early adopters to populate the service and refine how evidence is shared. Future iterations may add AI-assisted browsing, but the foundation will remain the human network of NHS peers.

By connecting the people who already hold the knowledge, Compass makes procurement decisions smarter, faster, and more personalised—ultimately improving patient outcomes across the NHS.