NHS Scotland has announced it will be rolling-out Microsoft Teams to all NHS staff in Scotland.
The news comes one month after Microsoft Teams was made available for free for three months for NHS staff in England.
Since then providers across the country have adopted the tool. At Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS FT the trust introduced Microsoft Teams and Bookings for virtual visits for COVID-19 patients.
University Hospital Southampton NHS FT has utilised Microsoft Teams to scale chatbot functionality to automate many common tasks and COVID-19 results. Clinicians can create a request for a service and be alerted when ready, such as COVID-19 results or pathology results.
Colin Sinclair, Chief Executive of NHS National Services Scotland, said “This unprecedented event, combined with a lockdown of the UK, has led to an unequivocal need to open up digital communications to help the NHS save lives.”
“In response to the challenges of the pandemic, NHS Scotland has accelerated the rollout of Microsoft Teams, so that it is available to all of our staff.”
“A national team was already working closely with local health board teams on the planned rollout of Microsoft Office 365 over the coming months, but in agreement with the Scottish Government, we accelerated that rollout to a couple of weeks. This technology is helping us enormously in allowing our organisation to adapt promptly to this emergency.”
Paul Campbell, doctor and clinical director for Clinical Informatics, said “It has also brought clinical teams together, often across boundaries and disciplines.”
“These teams have been able to create and share guidelines, understand and manage staffing challenges, and provide an immediate communication network to support remote working. It has helped them respond rapidly to the significant changes in clinical practice that have been required to help save lives during this national crisis.”
Cindy Rose, Chief Executive of Microsoft UK said “Our team has worked closely with NHS Scotland to accelerate the rollout of Microsoft Teams to all Boards across the country. As a result, the hardworking doctors, nurses and support staff of NHS Scotland are already benefitting from this new way of working as they pursue their vital work.”
“We are hugely appreciative of their ongoing efforts to tackle the pandemic and will continue to provide support however best we can.”
