Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has launched a survey seeking views on its upcoming patient engagement portal, with questions around desired functionality across electronic appointment management, accessing information about care and treatment, and sending and receiving secure messages.
Service user engagement has helped to inform what it looked for when choosing a system, the trust explains, and will continue to be influential in determining how it develops in the future. Technical work has been carried out over the last few months to allow the app to connect to existing systems, it adds.
Intentions are to first roll out in a select few services, with early, simple functionality such as enabling people to receive appointment details electronically hoped to help the trust learn what works well and make improvements prior to introducing more features.
LPFT shares that while at the outset only information from its own services will be visible on the app, work is continuing with other local organisations to “see how we could join things up in the future”.
The survey asks people to rank features they would like to see in the new app in order of usefulness. Options include finding information about care and next steps, letting family members or carers access information about care, and getting letters and appointment details in one place.
“This is just the start and it will take us some time to introduce the app across all our services,” LPFT states. “As more people begin using it we will continue to learn and improve what it can offer.”
In June, the trust signed a contract with Interoperability Health (UK) Limited for the provision of a trust integration engine to support linking data from EHRs and EPMA. According to the trust, the trust interface engine is required to support in linking key EHR systems and its EPMA system to ensure data and records can be shared to help improve quality and efficiency in patient care.
The contract, with a total value of £77,273, is set to run to the end of March 2028, with the trust noting that since the value is below the relevant threshold, the procurement took place without competition.
Wider trend: Digital patient journeys
The UK government has announced a £40 million programme designed to support up to 300,000 patients identified as being vulnerable this winter with additional GP support, in an attempt to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and provide proactive care to those with conditions such as heart disease or frailty. The funding will reportedly support GP practices proactively identify and provide additional care for patients most at risk of becoming seriously unwell over the winter period, with a focus on those with heart disease, frailty, emphysema and other types of COPD. Estimates are that it will support areas such as medication reviews and health checks for up to 300,000 people.
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has shared plans for outpatient and diagnostic transformation, remote care, and digital innovation in its latest trust strategy to 2031, aiming to reshape the way care is delivered, optimise existing digital systems, and embrace new digital opportunities. Focuses will be on empowering patients and appointment management, reducing unnecessary admissions, and workforce and training development, the trust states. Priority programmes include paperless systems, digital triage, and ambient voice technology, which it hopes will support the shift of care from hospital to community. Pathways will be digital by default where appropriate, it continues, to improve access, reduce delays, and release time for patient care.
Humber and North Yorkshire Cancer Alliance has awarded a share of £135,000 to three projects run by Humber Health Partnership aiming to improve cancer services and outcomes for patients. The funding is awarded as part of the Cancer Research and Innovation Awards, designed to help turn ideas into improvements to services for those living with, or being tested for, cancer. One of the projects, SACT ePROMs, is a software for monitoring patients undergoing systemic anti-cancer therapy. It reportedly allows patients to report their own progress and symptoms, aiming to create capacity for teams to conduct additional patient reviews.
