Category Archives: Healthcare

Health & Safety, Healthcare, International News, News

Hochiki proves to be the ideal solution in leading Italian hospital

Hochiki provides leading Italian Hospital with fire detection system

Celebrating its centenary, the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital is in Negrar, Verona, and thanks to the expert team and technology in place, it is considered one of Italy’s top medical facilities, and in fact at European level it is recognised as a leader in the healthcare sector.

The hospital is made up of eight buildings with more than 30 medical departments, operating theatres, offices, canteens, and conference rooms.  In recent years, the hospital has undergone considerable renovation and expansion and along with this the improvement and adaption of the life safety system. The update to the fire detection system is to ensure the best possible protection for the thousands of people who visit the facility every day as well as the preservation of property, patient data and vital medical equipment.

The healthcare sector has a duty of care for its patients, staff and visitors as well as having to provide constant protection of its property and assets from the threat of fire. After extensive assessments and a rigorous qualifying stage by the Hospital technical team and Amperia srl, the installation company, Hochiki fire detection systems and equipment were found to offer the best solution and offered the highest quality standards for the hospital.

Hochiki is a well-respected name in healthcare across Europe and famed for its reliability in Italy, particularly when it comes to reduction in false alarms. Minimising this risk was critical to the hospital who wanted to avoid unnecessary and hugely problematic evacuation situations, especially where some patients may find moving around independently difficult and, in some cases, impossible, especially for patients in critical care departments.

Following consultation, 26 fire detection panels, including Syncro and Hochiki’s Latitude system, and two Vision remote panels were installed in the hospital, all of which were networked.

The project brief stated that it was important the systems and any devices used must be installed with minimum impact on the day to day running of the hospital. Hochiki ESP range was recommended because these devices have been specifically designed to be quick and easy to install and therefore ensured minimal disruption was achieved by the team at Amperia srl.

Another priority for the project was that any fire detection system needed to be able to alert every person in the building to an emergency, including visually and hearing-impaired visitors. Hochiki’s range of VADs (visual alarm devices) were used to provide a visual indication of an alarm condition to those people who would not normally be alerted to a fire by standard audible-only devices such as sounders and bells.

The final key priority was the ability for the entire system to be continuously monitoring 24 hours a day. During the consultation period between the installers and Hochiki, the fire detection system was designed to provide 24/7 monitoring. This was thanks to the I/O modules and technological fault alarm signals which were also implemented and connected to the fire control panel loop. These were then monitored by the personnel 24 hours a day thanks to two supervision systems, one for the fire detection system and one for the technological alarms.

This project at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital was one of the largest and most complex projects that Hochiki have ever been involved in Italy involving the installation of multiple detectors, Detectors, 10 fire extinguishing systems, 14 gas detection panels and 10 aspirating panels.

Davide Montoli, Product Manager at Hochiki Italia, explains: “An interesting aspect of our systems is the “Bridge” communication between different generations of fire alarm control panels. In the case of this Hospital, the possibility of connecting the new L@titude control panels to the existing network of Syncro control panels made it possible to expand the system even though many years had passed since the installation of the original control panel. In fact, Hochiki’s L@titude platform can adapt its communication protocol to ensure backward compatibility with previous generation control panels”

Thanks to the expert Hochiki team working closely with both the installer and the technical team at the hospital a high-quality installation was achieved, with the best products on the market installed ensuring that fire safety for patients and staff is kept as a top priority.

Loris Fornaser, Technical Manager at the installer company Amperia srl, commented: “As you can imagine the fire safety standards of this project were extremely high due to the complex environment in which a hospital operates. This led us to choose a technologically advanced life safety product that would guarantee the client excellent performance and long-term reliability. The manufacturer’s technical support was always precise and Hochiki proved to be the ideal solution”

 

Healthcare, News, North of England

Kays Medical expands 3rd Party Logistics operations with a new warehouse and fulfilment centre due to open in September 2022

Kays Medical are one of the UK’s largest and most trusted suppliers of first aid, medical supplies, Ofqual regulated training and occupational health provision with nearly 50 years of experience protecting employees’ health and wellbeing and is now able to offer a full 3rd party logistics solution.

Kays Logistics’ has experienced significant growth over recent years to serve an array of industries such as manufacturing, retail, aerospace, food production, engineering, offshore, leisure and education. The Liverpool-based company is set to further expand its Logistics operation with a new 35,000 sq. ft. high-volume warehouse and fulfilment centre due to open in September 2022. The project will allow Kays to expand its capacity and meet the increasingly sophisticated logistics demands of customers.

Based in Speke, close to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, the fulfilment centre is set to bring new jobs and business to the area. The expansion will enable Kays Logistics to offer 3PL services including full pick-pack functions, reworking and kitting services along with storage and distribution.

For Kays, customer service will remain at the forefront of the project as customers will be provided with a portfolio of technology, services and support by their experienced team.

Kays CEO Ben Ludzker said “It’s exciting to see the new building going up. It is a tangible example of the company’s growth ambitions and our continued diversification. We see great potential in this new logistics division and are already looking to add new sites across the country.”

For more information on the project contact Kays Medical directly on 0151 268 6801 or email info@kayslogistics.co.uk

 

Customer Experience, Healthcare, Marketing, News, PR and SEO

Mapp Prescribes Exceptional Customer Experience To Boost LloydsPharmacy’s Strategy  

Mapp chosen to integrate customer intelligence at the core of the company’s marketing 

Mapp, the leading provider of insight-led customer experiences, has today announced LloydsPharmacy has selected its insight-led solution to integrate customer intelligence at the heart of its marketing.

LloydsPharmacy is a leading community pharmacy and healthcare provider with over 1,400 pharmacies across the UK, mainly in community and health centre locations. With 17,000 colleagues dispensing over 150 million prescription items every year, its main focus is on meeting the needs of its customers. LloydsPharmacy strives to provide customers with exceptional service and healthcare. Now with ramped up online demand, the company wanted to reflect this across all channels.

In order to deliver exceptional service for customers across all channels at scale, LloydsPharmacy needed to unify its unconnected data sets and profiles in one safe and secure place. To achieve this the company required a powerful Customer Data Platform (CDP) that integrates customer intelligence with omnichannel capabilities to enhance its marketing. LloydsPharmacy now uses Mapp Cloud and its analytics capabilities to unify its data points and truly understand each of its customers on an individual level.

The benefits of Mapp’s offering

Mapp’s cross-channel offering means LloydsPharmacy is now able to increase channel adoption, including social media and display advertising. Automating more customer journeys becomes seamless, including advanced replenishment journeys for prescriptions, and a real-time trigger campaign for customers in session.

The LloydsPharmacy Digital Marketing Team also benefits from Mapp’s premium Customer Success team support, so they can totally focus on their marketing goals.

Looking to the future

LloydsPharmacy has big plans for the rest of 2022 and beyond, with plans to onboard other companies under its brands; Online Doctor and LloydsDirect services. Improving customer identification across all three brands will enable the provision of an enhanced customer experience. The company also plans to implement a full patient care journey including illness identification, recommended treatment, online pharmacy and repeat prescription services.

Phil Geary, Group Digital Director at LloydsPharmacy says, “Due to Covid-19, we’ve seen a huge increase in demand for our online services, as well as doctor/patient care. With Mapp’s support, we will be able to not only truly understand all of our customers on an individual level, but also help them with each of their specific needs. We look forward to seeing what the future holds for this exciting partnership.”

Healthcare, Healthcare News

Distec Partners with US Computing Giant Tangent

New partnership adds a host of new products to Distec’s portfolio of medical-grade solutions

Healthcare technology solutions provider, Distec, has partnered with leading US-based medical and industrial computing specialist, Tangent, to expand and complement its existing portfolio of medical-grade solutions.

Based in San Francisco, California, Tangent is a leading manufacturer of medical and industrial computers and tablets. Through its agreement with Distec, Tangent is aiming to further grow its presence within the European marketplace.

Tangent specifically engineers computers for industries that are not served by traditional PC manufacturers, and their products include medical grade and industrial grade all-in-one computers and tablets, as well as rugged minicomputers. Their competitive pricing structure makes them an affordable option for both private and NHS healthcare providers.

Dean Challinor, General Manager of Distec, said: “Technology within the healthcare industry is constantly changing. By agreeing to this new partnership with Tangent, we have the opportunity to offer medical professionals cutting-edge technology solutions that can help transform how they treat and care for patients. It is an exciting step for our business and I look forward to working closely with the team at Tangent.”

Missy Ostendorf, Vice-President of Healthcare Sales for Tangent, said: “Tangent, as the medical grade computer visionary and world leader in industrial computing solutions, is always excited to expand our portfolio of valued partners. By collaborating with Distec we have an opportunity to not only grow our brand and presence within Europe, but also transform how the healthcare and industrial sectors leverage technology within their workflows. This is a significant move for us, and I believe this partnership will help both of our organisations deliver more for the UK.”

For further information visit www.distec.co.uk

—

About Distec:

Distec Ltd is a specialist hybrid technology solutions provider, offering a range of industrial hardware and software solutions to sectors including healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and transportation. Distec works with industry-leading global vendors to provide customers with cutting-edge hardware and software solutions.

Part of KAMIC Group

Distec is part of the Electronics business area in KAMIC Group, a privately held corporate group based in Sweden and with a common aim to be a leading supplier of technical products and services in a number of well-defined market niches.

Careers, Healthcare, News, Training

Nursing students to continue on-the-job training at Andrew’s Healthcare

Nursing students will continue to receive on-the-job training as part of their career development as St Andrew’s Healthcare and the University of Northampton (UON) have renewed their partnership agreement.

The two organisations have been officially partnered since 2010, and have worked collaboratively on a variety of education programmes. This includes St Andrew’s Healthcare’s exciting ASPIRE programme which supports Healthcare Assistants from the Charity to complete a Mental Health or Learning Disability Nursing Degree at the University of Northampton in just two years, while receiving financial and pastoral support.

 

Phil Labrum joined St Andrew’s Healthcare as a Healthcare Assistant in 2006, but after identifying that he wanted to become a fully qualified mental health nurse, he started his education journey with the UON.

Now, a fully qualified nurse and Acting Nurse Manager, Phil said:

“It was great to be able to train and gain my qualifications while doing the job. Developing my career this way allowed me to keep up with my studies, while also continuing to earn. This was important to me, because being a mature student and having commitments, meant there was no way I could have taken any other route to university, let alone have the confidence to do it.”

 

The partnership was renewed after a presentation from St Andrew’s to a University panel, which included members of UON’s Academic Partnerships Office, programme and subject teams.

 

Ged Rogers, Clinical Education Manager at St Andrew’s Healthcare, said:

“We are really proud of the long-standing relationship between St Andrew’s and the University of Northampton. Our two organisations share the same purpose and values, and we are both committed to providing education and career opportunities for all.

“Education can transform lives, and I am particularly proud of our combined efforts to provide education routes for staff who had a negative learning experience at school, and those who achieved no qualifications at all. I am looking forward to seeing the next generation of learners develop their skills.

“Our level 4 Certificate in Mental Health Studies is a key part of this partnership; enabling adult learners to be introduced to Higher Education and providing a pathway to learners into full time BSc nursing programmes that may have otherwise been impossible. Two thirds of our wonderful Aspire nurses have utilised this educational route to help them achieve their dreams of becoming registered nurses.”

 

Since the two organisations officially started working together in 2010, they have seen:

  • 280 St Andrew’s staff members achieve a certificate in Higher Education
  • 24 St Andrew’s staff members achieve a foundation degree, and 148 achieve a BSc top-up degree
  • 108 Healthcare Assistants qualify as Mental Health or Learning Disability Nurses via the ASPIRE programme (as of May 2022)
  • 207 staff members complete education modules at the University.

In addition, University students regularly undertake placements at St Andrew’s to gain real-life experience of working in an inpatient, psychiatric setting. Since May 2015, 1,079 placements have taken place, featuring 697 students across 12 different undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, including health professions, nursing, and social care.

 

Donna Bray, Subject Leader for Nursing at the University of Northampton, said:

“After the challenges we surmounted during the previous two years, it’s wonderful that our highly successful, multi-layered partnership with St Andrew’s celebrates its dozenth year.

“Our close working ties take in clinical placements for undergraduate nursing students, the award-winning ASPIRE programme and apprenticeship routes into mental health for St Andrew’s staff and more, ensuring that generations of mental health professionals go on to support members of our community, and those further afield. It’s welcome news that the partnership will go on to celebrate future birthdays.”

To find out more about the courses on offer at the University of Northampton, visit: www.northampton.ac.uk.

 

Healthcare, News

PervasID to Present Solution for Tracking Medical Equipment and Surgical Instruments at Electronic and Biomedical Engineering Expo 2022

Company to exhibit and deliver presentation on solution which enhances decontamination, increases sterilisation processes, ensures mission-critical medical devices are available at the right place and time, for robust and efficient care saving billions of pounds across the NHS

Cambridge, UK – Friday 24th June 2022 – PervasID, the company providing best-in-class battery-free Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) reader systems for automating inventory and asset tracking, will be exhibiting and presenting its solution for the healthcare sector at the EBME Expo 2022. The company’s technology is being deployed in a number of NHS trusts as well as EU hospitals and is predicted to save billions of pounds and lives with a solution that delivers an ROI in under 12 months.

At the event PervasID founder and CEO, Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan, and Steris Chief Digital Officer, Mark Capel will be delivering a paper titled: Next Generation Medical & Surgical equipment Tracking – RFID which will detail the opportunities for healthcare providers for tracking medical equipment as well as surgical instruments (tray level) across hospitals, all with a battery-less RFID system. The presentation is at 12:30 on Wednesday 29th June 2022 as part of the Operating Theatre Conference Programme, the company will also be exhibiting at the event on stand D12.

Based on pioneering research carried out at the University of Cambridge, PervasID’s unique passive (battery-less) RFID technology achieves unrivalled detection accuracy (near 100%) and responsiveness over all other existing solutions in the market. As such hospitals are able to track medical devices, medical records, surgical instruments (tray level) and patient flow with the highest degree of accuracy. This in turn reduces waiting times and heightens patient care through more efficient asset management.

“The need to keep track of assets and resources is never more critical than in a hospital setting, with the need for highly accurate traceability of medical devices and surgical instruments having become particularly prominent since the COVID-19 pandemic begun. PervasID solutions are being deployed at a number of hospitals across the UK as well as EU for tracking medical devices and surgical instruments,” said Dr Sabesan Sithamparanathan, PervasID founder and CEO. “The use of our tracking technology enhances decontamination and sterilisation processes and allows hospitals to track their assets to ensure that mission-critical medical devices are available at the right place and time, to support delivering robust and efficient care.”

To learn more or book a meeting at the event please contact info@pervasid.com

Healthcare, News

“Health and social care needs radical reform to support our people and our NHS”, experts says

Matthew Dunster, MD of Digital Home Visits Group, says a change is urgently needed – so what would happen if we actually truly combined Health and Social care?

News that the NHS has lost 25,000 beds in the UK over the last decade means it’s vital that the Health and Social Care system is efficient and fit for purpose – discharged patients desperately need it. Furthermore, a beleaguered government rolled out the faithful old fallback of committing to improve the NHS to divert the headlines away from other matters. It is clear that ‘NHS’ is an electoral buzzword, and ‘Social Care’ doesn’t factor into the public consciousness. But there’s an enigma: the success of the ‘Health’ bit is somewhat at the mercy of the effectiveness of the ‘Social Care’ bit.

Even though the recent National Insurance hike was billed as a measure to help Health and Social Care, the ‘Social Care’ part of the sector won’t see any of the cash, at least in the short term.

But the issue is not just about cash. What the government needs to do now is reform Health and Social Care. Pay and funding is often brought up as a key issue. It’s crucial of course, but it isn’t the only solution required. Even if the sector received another 20%, which the government can’t afford, there’ll be further obstacles.

So what’s the solution? Investing more money in technology, looking at population demand and making care contracts more attractive to companies would be a move in the right direction. Think long term: spend £1 now to save £2 later. But the one thing I’d advise the government is to put social care in the same house as Healthcare, with the Health Authorities.

At the moment, Local Authorities are doing their best, but the care landscape has changed over the last decade and their hands are tied on so many issues. Ten years ago, domiciliary care meant going round to check on people and making sure they could get into bed, but now you’d have to show you have high needs to qualify for care funding. Back then, anyone with high needs was in a residential home but now there’s a shift towards keeping people in their own homes as we know it’s better for them and their families. Things have changed and it makes sense to question whether Local Authorities are still the best place to control that funding.

This is not a criticism of those employed in the Local Authorities. There are many talented people working there, but they’d be more effective if everyone was in the same working space, dealing with the same overall budgets.

Right now, there are many people in hospital beds awaiting social care packages to be commissioned by Local Authorities, who cannot find enough funds to entice care providers to deliver them. Although the Local Authority is the party struggling to meet their obligations, the pain is really felt by the NHS hospital that has to continue to provide the bed to those individuals. This disconnect between malfunction, (no community care provision) and the resulting pain, (a blocked hospital bed) is not conducive to any game-changing solutions. It’s like having a restaurant with one company running the kitchen and another entirely separate one managing the front of house staff.

Transfer control and those talented Local Authority staff to the Health Authority, so they can collectively see the entire picture. They would likely move more funding into social care and give people a better pathway; and they’d spend less money overall. They would more readily address the issue of spending over £400 a night to keep someone in hospital, when less could be spent further down the chain to totally avoid the cost and the individual impact.

Some would argue that collective commissioning and joint budgets such as the Better Care fund are examples of how this is already happening. However, this bush beating is arguably ineffective, and only serves as an indicator towards the right direction and destination.

Healthcare, News

“I turned back to respiratory solutions during the pandemic, but cancer is the challenge and main focus for me,’ says Prof. Sir Chris Evans OBE

Prof. Sir Chris Evans OBE addressed Cardiff Business Club about his work to combat COVID and exciting new cancer treatment 

Prof. Sir Chris Evans OBE has told Cardiff Business Club members of his return to 21st Century cancer diagnostics and brilliant new cancer treatments following a hectic two years of focussing on respiratory solutions during the pandemic. The Port Talbot-born internationally renowned scientific entrepreneur worked everyday from March 2020 until late 2021 developing his own highly accurate lateral flow and PCR tests and sourcing 1,000’s of high-quality ventilators and medical equipment for the NHS and several other countries. His work made a huge contribution around the globe of which he is very proud.

Headlining the Cardiff Business Club’s latest live speaker event on June 13, Sir Chris spoke openly and passionately about his life-saving work. He said: “In 1988 my first start-up company, Enzymatix, pioneered a unique lung surfactant to help millions of premature babies to breath. In 1998, I established Vectura which focused on the treatment of respiratory diseases. It became a world leader in inhaled therapies and last year was sold for over £1bn. We also grew Verona Pharma to a £300m plc, developing a unique COPD respiratory drug. During the pandemic, I went full circle and returned to respiratory once more, but cancer is the real challenge and excitement for me.

“In particular, cancer diagnostics for early detection of difficult cancers such as ovarian cancer. In Ellipses Pharma I have some excellent treatments in the pipeline, but the world needs thousands of new treatments coming down the track, not 12 or 13. There is a lot of work that needs doing by a lot of people and Ellipses Pharma is ambitiously trying to push things forward at pace and get multiple products through expensive clinical trials successfully.

“Cancer is complicated, so we put together a panel of 126 leading oncologists from around the world and once you get 90% of these leading cancer experts saying a product looks good to back, then it’s my responsibility to ensure we write the cheque and get phase 1 and phase 2 started and feel confident we stand a great chance of getting somewhere. We’ll invest £20m-£40m or so getting it through the first two phases, which includes all the necessary tox and trials, and I know that I have given the products the best shot possible of success.

“We are getting very good results in world-leading hospitals. We currently have seven products in trials, including one due to end next year that has seen some terminally ill cancer patients virtually cured of the disease. We have another 14 going to trial by the end of next year and another 45 projects behind those. It will take £billions and several years, but I am not afraid to go and attempt to raise that money. Statistically, more than one of these will be successful which will make it all worthwhile, and I will spend most of my time doing just this for the rest of my life.”

Sir Chris Evans has built more than 40 life sciences companies which were valued in excess of $7 billion. As well as Ellipses Pharma and Vectura, other notable companies include Excalibur, Chiroscience, Celsis, BioVex, ReNeuron, Piramed, Arakis, Arix, Rutherford clinics and Merlin Biosciences. Sir Chris told Cardiff Business Club members of his latest venture that will focus on making early cancer screening tests available to the public via easy to use kits and apps, as well as a new charity he is launching ‘Cancer Awareness Trust’ that will share lots of valuable information about surviving the disease on one platform.

The event took place on Monday 13 June at Hilton Hotel. For details on all of the Club’s events, visit www.cardiffbusinessclub.org/events.

Healthcare, Mental Health, News, Wellbeing at Work

Westfield Health advises businesses how they can support employees in light of NHS waiting times

  • 1.4 million people now on the NHS waiting list for mental health treatment according to NHS Providers
  • Research from Westfield Health has found that workers are seeking (20%) additional mental health support from their employers

The pandemic continues to impact the nation’s mental health, with Westfield Health research finding that almost one in three (31%) employees took leave in 2021 due to mental health reasons.

1.4 million people are currently awaiting treatment for mental health issues1, but the NHS Long Term Plan suggests a £2.3 billion investment fund will be introduced by 2023/24 to ensure the NHS provides high quality, evidence-based mental health services to an additional two million people2.

While support is needed now, Richard Holmes, Director of Wellbeing at Westfield Health, identifies how businesses can better care for their employees when appointments aren’t available. “It’s important for organisations to consider how the waiting list for mental health support might be affecting their workers.

While they can’t replace the NHS’s vital work, there are ways they can support employees who are struggling.

“Embedding wellbeing in company culture and treating mental and physical health equally is essential. Even simple measures such as offering regular one-to-ones with managers can help employers understand the problems their people may be facing and offer or signpost them to support.”

The wellbeing provider’s research found that 20% of employees want their employer to provide additional mental health support and absence due to mental health days cost UK businesses £12.7bn3.

Richard continued, “To support workers during this time, developing a workplace mental health and wellbeing strategy is a vital practice. The pandemic has clearly taken a significant toll on the workforce and employers have the power to help.

When reviewing wellbeing strategies, consider what tailored support you can offer, where you can signpost employees to access information and create a culture where people are comfortable asking for help.”

Some of the measures employers can take to support mental health are:

  • Mental Health First Aiders to provide a confidential avenue to seek support.
  • Webinars and training to encourage conversations and raise awareness of when and where to get help.
  • Encouraging regular physical activity has been known to relieve stress, improve memory, aid sleep and boost an individual’s overall mood.
  • Suggest walking meetings to fit in physical activity while working.
  • Relieving stress through team-building activities is a good way to get workers in a different, more social environment with their colleagues.
  • Training to ensure managers hold regular one-to-ones can help them identify when someone in their team may need extra support.

www.westfieldhealth.com/

 

1 https://www.nationalhealthexecutive.com/articles/new-analysis-shows-record-43-million-referrals-mental-health-services-2021

2 https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/nhs-mental-health-implementation-plan-2019-20-2023-24.pdf

3 https://www.westfieldhealth.com/resources/our-changing-attitudes-to-mental-health

 

Healthcare, Healthcare Tech, News

Interoperability and basic data are key to future of Smart Hospitals

Written by Prahlad Koti, Senior Partner, Netcompany

In June 2021, the UK government announced a plan to transform how data is used across the health and care sectors. The goal is to give patients control of their health data and enable staff to save more lives through improved care and treatment.

One aspect of this strategy is the development of Smart Hospitals, which will use digital interoperability to redesign traditional hospital processes, systems, and infrastructures. The NHS is currently being urged to invest in Smart Hospitals – both when building new hospitals, and when upgrading existing facilities with smart infrastructure.

 

Sharing patient records

Central to the vision of a Smart Hospital is enabling patient records to be shared between systems to allow for faster, more specialised treatment. However, healthcare has always struggled with the integration and interoperability of its systems and continues to do so.

For example, if I needed to look at my personal health record, there are parts of this that reside with my GP – and other parts held by hospitals I might have visited – but there is no one centralised place where I can see everything. The NHS as a whole has all of my information, but it’s not completely joined up and available to access in one place.

Here at Netcompany, our view is that it’s not possible for a hospital to be Smart unless systems are interoperable. And in order to achieve that interoperability and modernisation, we need reliable sources of data. There needs to be an investment in basic or registry data, whether that’s patient records, available appointments, or any kinds of information which should be accurate and accessible.  What I mean by this is fundamental data that is common for many purposes such as addresses, date of birth, National Insurance numbers etc.  Establishing a common basic data infrastructure for NHS administration, which can be updated in one place, is of huge societal benefit.  It means that the public no longer has to re-type the same information every time they use any kind of self-service solution or talk to a healthcare provider, and in turn it makes for a smoother transition for NHS employees to work more efficiently.

 

Siloed departments lead to siloes of data

The ongoing challenge is that often the health service is inward looking, operationally, where hospitals and healthcare facilities are divided up into different departments. This department-led approach often leads to siloes of data and doesn’t put the patient at the centre. We need to change that.

So, when we say integration, and when we say new systems, everything must be oriented towards what the citizens need. As an example, Netcompany has created a portal in Denmark where citizens can see their health records in their entirety, and all of their interactions with healthcare professionals in a single window. If they can do it, why can’t the UK?

 

Virtual wards

Related to this question of interoperability is the formation of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) across the country. ICSs bring together public bodies and healthcare service providers across geographic regions, with the aim of centralising health and care to better meet the needs of patients. They will come into effect as statutory legal bodies in July 2022.

Having at least minimum ICS-level interoperability where people can move from a GP to a hospital, or from a community hospital to an acute secondary care hospital, will ensure having all of the patient information available across that journey.

It is important to acknowledge, too, the delays to key healthcare services following the pandemic – the government estimates it could take three to four years to ease the backlog of elective procedures and other routine treatments. So, we need to think of mechanisms by which we can reduce the burden on healthcare. One initiative is virtual wards that allow patients to get the care they need at home, rather than being in hospital.

Virtual wards are already in place in many parts of the country, including Covid virtual wards. In a virtual ward, support can include remote monitoring using apps, technology platforms, wearables and medical devices such as pulse oximeters. Readings are taken and all that patient’s data is fed into a virtual ward in the hospital, where clinicians, doctors and nurses can look at that information and make a judgement as to their continued care.

It’s no longer the case that an at-home patient is ‘out of sight out of mind’.  Remote Patient Monitoring, Telecare and Virtual wards all have a role to play.  At the same time, they can reduce the operational burden on the hospital, and they can use their resources for providing other services to reduce the backlog.

 

The time is now

If the past couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that we can’t ever be sure what’s around the corner. We don’t know whether we will have another Covid variant in the autumn, or a more impactful ‘flu season as the world opens up to more mixing.

That means this is the moment to start putting these initiatives in place. We see the NHS moving in the right direction. But we could – and need to – go faster.