Welcome to our latest news in brief! During a busy week where the HTN team is live for HTN Now, there’s still lots happening elsewhere in the world of health tech.
In this edition, we share a project using digital workers to perform manual tasks, a new mental health app in collaboration with the Walton Centre, a new tender in Wales and the implementation of inventory management software in South Tees…
Patient information software tender opens
The Welsh Risk Pool is looking to procure a library of patient information documents and a consent training package for clinicians. The aim is to provide detail on the current procedures or treatments available within Wales. The service is looking for a cloud-based tool to provide patient documents in a bilingual format, with the ability to translate documentation into other languages when required.
In addition, the Welsh Risk Pool is looking to procure a consent training package for clinicians comprising of a programme of awareness, learning and development, including an e-learning package, to support NHS Wales staff who are required to obtain informed consent as part of their role. It is intended that this will be hosted through the NHS Electronic Service Record.
To view the tender, please click here.
South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust appoints Ingenica Solutions to automate inventory management
Ingenica Solutions 360 IM will be implemented across two acute sites at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. The digital supply chain solution will replace the existing manual process.
Marc Saaiman, Deputy Head of Procurement and Scan4Safety lead at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Ingenica Solutions 360 IM was chosen not least because of the flexibility of the solution to grow and expand with the needs of our trust over time, but also because of its well-recognised ability to maximise frontline and back-office savings and efficiencies now and in the future.”
Robots supporting manual task for the Dorset Care Record
The Dorset Care Record digital team has utilised Robotic Process Automation technology to create user accounts for 1,500 GPs, and enable Single-Sign On.
Paul Wyman, RPA architect at Dorset CCG, said a team of digital workers completed the job in a matter of hours: “We created a script for them and the lead worker shared the work across the team. The workers searched through the current users of the system and, if the new user’s record is not found, they will create the account with all of the details required. Any problems encountered are reported back so that they can be dealt with manually.”
The technology has also been used across the area to automate COVID-19 antibody testing for social care staff.
Mental health app is launched
ShinyMind, an app developed with the NHS Walton Centre, has been launched to support the mental health of the workforce.
The app provides interactive personal resources for people to learn more about themselves, grow and thrive. It aims to become a “companion for life” through a combination of learning and personal empowerment tools.
Rebecca Howard, Founder and CEO of ShinyMind and a leadership Psychotherapist and behavioural change expert, said: “The majority of mental health apps are CBT-based but this represents just one approach to psychotherapy. In order to provide a resource which works for as many of us as possible, we haven’t tied ourselves to one approach; instead, we have blended elements from different psychotherapeutic approaches. Why? Because everyone is different with very different needs.
“Through a wide breadth of everyday interactive activities, this multi-modality of different approaches is reflected in ShinyMind, to help people find something that works for them. Equally, mindfulness and meditation activities don’t work for everyone. For those – the majority – who can’t always understand and steer their own thoughts, guided meditation is better suited. This is also provided via the app.
“This is the ShinyMind difference, as is the fact that users are encouraged to personalise the app and ‘put themselves into it’ so there’s some graft involved, but then from that you get the gold in terms of the learning. It’s this that makes it so ‘sticky’ unlike many other apps, where average usage after 30 days is under 10 per cent. You put so much of yourself into ShinyMind, that to delete it would be like deleting a big piece of your life.”
