Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust announced this week that it has received approval from NHS England for plans to invest £71.2 million in digital architecture over the next ten years, focusing on removing “legacy paper processes” and modernising patient pathways.
With hopes of using the investment to “improve patient safety and increase service efficiency”, one of the major developments to be implemented over the next two years is the introduction of an electronic patient record system.
Neil Macdonald, chief executive at Buckinghamshire Healthcare, highlighted the “huge amount of work” the investment signifies for the trust, acknowledging the funding as “the biggest single investment in infrastructure we have made”.
To learn more about the planned investment, please click here.
Related news from Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust
Buckinghamshire Healthcare launched its patient portal at the end of last year, giving patients the ability to confirm and check their appointments, receive and access information such as clinical letters, view discharge summaries and complete health questionnaires before pre-assessment appointments.
Earlier this year, we sat down with Ian Roddis, the trust’s director of digital, data and technology, to discuss digital transformation, digital maturity, workforce culture, leadership, and more. He shared plans for “exciting work” around patient flow and using data to “help understand the life of the hospital” and target interventions, stating that the trust was at “an interesting point” in its digital maturity journey.
Digital transformation from across the NHS
University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire has shared insight into how the trust is utilising artificial intelligence with the aim of improving patient experience, with focus on a collaborative project designed to reduce the number of missed appointments.
North West London ICS set out its strategic approach for integrated neighbourhood teams (INTs), with a “no wrong front door” approach undertaken which will see all services accessible digitally, via telephone or in person; whilst the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust shared the launch of its electronic health record ‘Alex Health’ during the first week of November.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust implemented livestreaming technology to support maternity care, enabling student midwives, student nurses and resident doctors to observe caesarean section surgery in real time. The initiative sees a surgeon, wearing a camera and microphone headset during a real c-section, livestreaming the process to approximately 30 students with the consent of an anonymous volunteer patient.
Birmingham and Solihull ICB proposed new plans for the region’s Children and Young People Mental Health Transformation Programme, outlining suggested changes to service delivery with the aim of improving access to mental health care and highlighting digital innovation as a “major vehicle for change”.
A hardware, cellular and satellite services package designed to deliver “fast, resilient connectivity” for ambulance crews has been installed at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust along with hospitals in Peterborough, Luton and Colchester, following a trial at East of England Ambulance Service as part of NHS England’s Future Connectivity Wireless Innovation programme.
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust also shared its finalised AI Policy, focusing on the need for safe integration and an approach balancing innovation with ethical and legal responsibilities; and highlighting ways the trust is implementing AI for decision support, reviewing patient scans, automating workflows, and more.
