University Hospitals Birmingham NHS FT, on behalf of the West Midlands Imaging Network, has launched a procurement for a converged digital imaging platform, with the aim to support multiple NHS trusts within the region.
The purpose of the platform is to support the imaging departments within 15 different trusts, offering clinical imaging, radiology services and the future incorporation of other specialities such as pathology and cardiology.
According to the trust, the platform will be used as a “modern, future-proof solution”, providing a centralised system that will “replace the independently procured systems currently used by each trust”. It aims to offer additional functionality, such as the automation of workflows as well as improvements for cross-site image and related-data sharing, reporting and scheduling.
The platform will also allow for network-wide business intelligence and “flexibility for locally defined workflows tailored to specific specialities or modalities” while delivering support for AI integration and research available via the West Midlands Trusted Research Environment.
The contract is currently valued up to £76 million, for an estimated duration of 10 years starting from April 2026 and the potential for extension up to 15 years. Read the notice for more information.
Digital transformation in Birmingham and the West Midlands
Last month, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust published another prior information notice for up to four digital solutions for the implementation of voice recognition software. Split into three different lots, the solutions cover digital diction, speech recognition with generative AI and outsourced transcription.
Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust recently began recording and administrating medical information through the electronic prescribing and medicines administration (EPMA) system, MedChart, as part of their ongoing initiatives to increase digital adoption. The system has been piloted by the trust’s EPR team with support from colleagues on Ward 8 at Moseley Hall Hospital.
Earlier in the year, a collaboration between the University of Warwick, Arden Cross Ltd and Muse on a HealthTech campus for the West Midlands region entered into Head of Terms. According to an update from West Midlands Combined Authority, the campus hoped to bring together the NHS, private providers, the University of Warwick and the industry sector “to support pioneering new start-ups and scale-ups to enter the NHS and global markets”.
