In March 2021, 32 trusts joined the latest phase of the NHS Digital Aspirant initiative, with seven to receive up to £6 million over the next three years and 25 to receive funding of £250,000 to develop their digital strategy and business case.
East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust is set to receive up to £3 million over the next three years, with Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust receiving funding in addition.
The trust plans to use the funding on areas including, robotic process automation, video consultation, upgrading to N365, electronic patient record optimisation and the roll out of AutoPlanner across Sussex. It also plans to roll-out digital patient records, refresh wifi access and further support virtual consultations.
Launching a campaign to refresh its digital strategy, Andy Bissenden, Associate Director of Digital at ESHT, said: “The importance of digital technology in providing healthcare has increased massively in recent years and it will continue to do so as new technologies are developed. This funding is fantastic news for the two trusts as it means we can really push on with our plans for digital transformation, benefitting both our staff and patients who use our community services.
“This year we will be extending the use of the Nervecentre system to provide more functionality. In the next few months we sill start to see the electronic prescribing and medicine administration system rolled out across our sites.
