South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has opened an opportunity for early engagement around the procurement of an electronic medicines tracking system hoped to eliminate reliance on paper-based processes, reduce corporate risk, generate cost savings and enhance efficiency.
Through market research, the trust aims to explore software and systems to support with medicine ordering and procurement; inventory management; dispensing and administration; controlled drugs management; and reporting and analytics. South Central Ambulance Service also emphasises the need for the new solution to integrate effectively with the existing pharmacy management system, EPR, finance system and procurement system.
The solution should offer scalability and adaptability and cloud compatibility as well as aligning with wider business needs, and vendors should be able to demonstrate experience providing off-the-shelf solutions for the NHS, UK ambulance services, European ambulance services, or other UK emergency services.
A questionnaire is provided for suppliers to participate in the market research, with a deadline of 10 September. Click here to access the documents in full.
Elsewhere in procurement
Other recent procurement opportunities from NHS England include market engagement around an EPR system designed to capture health data and records across the health and justice area; and plans to procure a digital weight management programme to help deliver behavioural lifestyle intervention.
HTN highlighted an invitation to tender launched by Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Trust for a digital histopathology outsourced reporting solution; and we also noted that Essex County Council sought a digital service offer for unpaid carers.
Locala, provider of NHS community healthcare services across West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, also published a prior information notice regarding the planned procurement of AI transcribing software, aiming to enhance efficiency and accuracy of medical transcription services.
Digital in emergency care
What’s been happening in the digital space when it comes to emergency and ambulance care?
Earlier in the year, HTN interviewed Stephen Bromhall, chief digital information officer at East of England Ambulance Service, to hear how digital is being used to make improvements across areas such as workforce, operations and patient engagement.
We reported that The Welsh Ambulance Service, in partnership with the University of Warwick and SkyBound, explored the feasibility of delivering a defibrillator via drone following a 999 call.
And we looked into a report developed by the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives in partnership with NHS Providers and NHS Confederation which calls for “radical re-design” of urgent and emergency care and long-term planning, highlighting the need to be “better prepared for the emerging impacts of advancing technologies”.
