In order to deliver the objectives of the national review the SW SIC ODN identified seven high level workstreams for focus at its current stage of development; these are:

1. Restoration
2. Governance
3. Engagement
4. Clinical data analysis
5. Quality assurance
6. Clinical pathway reviews
7. Workforce analysis
8. Parent and child experience

Within each of these workstreams there are priority objectives that will be delivered and additional opportunities that are under review for consideration.  Further information around these objectives can be found in the SW SIC ODN Work Plan.

All activities being undertaken by the SW SIC ODN can be defined in one of three areas either; core business, national requirements or a regional priority.   All areas of core business and national requirements are allocated to be undertaken in an agreed appropriate timeframe.   In order to ascertain local priorities to support alongside core business and national requirements the SW SIC ODN core team undertook an engagement exercise through July, August and September 2020 to reach out to stakeholders to further understand the priorities and challenges across the region.

Stakeholders were given the opportunity to define local or regional priorities and these were scoped to understand the scale of the potential risk and the resource required to deliver the suggested activity.  All potential programmes of work and projects were reviewed to understand how they might align to broader projects or national priorities.   Requests will be considered as the network progresses and there will be ongoing dialogue to inform regional priorities and an annual review of the agreed work programme.

The output of the initial consultation was a proposed operational and governance model that was presented at the first SW SIC ODN Board meeting on the 5^th October 2020.  The SW SIC ODN has agreed to operate by establishing a number of working groups that review and address regional priorities alongside national objectives. It was agreed that the current focus for the SW SIC ODN should be on establishing five key working groups these were defined as models of care, general surgery & urology, ENT (Ear Nose and Throat), T&O (Trauma & Orthopaedics) and a group dedicated to workforce planning and patient/family engagement to be established once the nursing and administrative posts are in place.

During the COVID-19 pandemic the SW SIC ODN has played a regional facilitator role in supporting the restoration of surgery in children pathways and it was agreed that this role would continue over the next 6 months minimum as a priority.  The diagram below outlines the current operating and governance model for the SW SIC ODN.