East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust has gone live with a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) from Sectra.
Earlier in the year HTN covered the news of neighbouring trust University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay using the platform.
Since then, East Lancashire and University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay have connected PACS, and will soon connect to Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS FT, to create a seamless and secure flow of imaging across the region.
The platform means healthcare teams can access and review diagnostic images, and also for the first time, radiologists are now able to use the system to work and report from home.
Dr Tom Newton, consultant radiologist and chief clinical information officer for the trust, said: “The PACS is robust even on low bandwidth connections. Home working has been part of our strategy for years and has now become possible.”
When on call, if you are at home you can log into the PACS and provide a comprehensive final opinion. This is an important feature in making the discipline more attractive, especially in the North West where we need to find ways to recruit and attract radiologists.”
“It means that a radiologist potentially only needs to come to the hospital three days in a week and can work from home for two days. But in the current context of potential self-isolation and social distancing of staff, this is proving to be a crucial technology.”
Leighan Beesley, radiology IT systems and performance manager at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “From a clinical perspective this is hugely important. Speed of access to images is crucial. The new PACS allows colleagues who may be in different trusts to look at an image together in real time when they need a second opinion.”
