In the second instalment of this two-part series, HTN looks back over the 20 most popular stories we’ve brought to you over the past 12 months.
To read the first 10 stories in part one please see our article here.
Asda and Medicspot partner for in-store virtual GP service
In July, Asda partnered with Medicspot to provide an in-store GP service. The remote doctor service, which was initially launched at the Asda Supercentre in Stevenage, allowed patients to have consultations and collect prescriptions while grocery shopping. As part of the consultation, users could access a connected stethoscope, pulse oximeter, blood pressure monitor, contactless thermometer, and a close inspection camera to check the ear, nose and throat.
NHSX launches national patient video library
As part of the NHSX COVID-19 response, a national video library was launched in June in collaboration with healthcare video provider Health and Care Innovations. The videos were developed with NHS clinicians to work within care pathways to help patients and to help support a reduction in length of appointments. The library of over 600 patient information videos were available for free for users to enable them to better understand their condition and how to manage their care at home.
Interview Series: Sam Allen, CEO, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
In this instalment of our leadership interview series, we had the opportunity to speak with Sam Allen, CEO at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, who took us through her journey from NHS receptionist to CEO. We met ahead of her presentation at the Mental Health Recovery Summit, where she delivered a talk on mental health recovery planning.
Industry View: Digital Health Technology Standard published by NHSX
In February, NHSX published a draft Digital Health Technology Standard and made a request for industry feedback before 22nd April. The draft standard outlined 10 components of what the NHS expects; it was based on existing standards and aimed to support a process for reviewing, assessing and evaluating digital health technologies that meet the standard. It was also intended to speed up and streamline how health technologies are reviewed and commissioned by the NHS and social care.
NHS makes Microsoft Teams available for free
In March, Microsoft Teams was made available for free for three months to all NHS organisations, providing online chat, video conferencing and planning tools. NHS Digital said NHS organisations would have access to Microsoft Teams to facilitate instant messaging and audio and video calling to support remote working in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It said it would also help deliver front-line services while working remotely.
Feature: Digital First Primary Care, X-on and TPP
In our Digital First Primary Care feature, we spoke with Matt Strickland, Director of Strategy and Communications at TPP and Paul Bensley, CEO of Primary Care Communications Specialists at X-on to hear how each organisation was driving digital primary care during the pandemic. During this interview, we were able to discuss some of the recent challenges from the past few months and what was next for each provider.
Case Study: North Bristol celebrates going paperless
Back in May 2014, North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) opened its PFI state-of-the-art new hospital in Southmead Bristol. In this case study, we looked at the effectiveness of the hospital’s paperless approach in delivering effective patient care.
London trusts adopt Morecambe Bay’s command centre model for Covid response
Earlier this year, seven trusts in London adopted the command centre model based on the analytical command centre at University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust. The trusts use the platform to alert staff to how many ambulances are predicted, including details of patient type and visibility of incoming COVID-19 risks. Staff across the London trusts are able to access bed status across each ward on every site, and patients with COVID-19 are flagged.
Interview Series: Nick Hulme, CEO, East Suffolk & North Essex NHS Foundation Trust
In the third edition of our CEO Series, we interviewed Nick Hulme to gain insight into how he led the trust through COVID-19 and discussed what technologies he thought were crucial in working through the past few months. Nick also shared with us his advice for aspiring leaders and what learnings he has acquired during his tenure of leading through a pandemic. He also shared with us his path to becoming a CEO.
In October we revealed the winners of the HTN Awards 2020, celebrating great technology, partnerships, teams and innovations making a difference across health and care. We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone involved and it was a great pleasure to help share and recognise your work! Meet the Winners or Finalists here.
