We recently caught up with Helen Atherton, professor in primary care research at the University of Southampton, to talk about her research findings and insights into digital in primary care. Helen first shared with us a brief introduction to her role and how she first got into research in the primary care field, sharing that her background is “actually a mixture of anthropology and public health”. She ended up working in primary care research “almost by accident” after getting a job as a research assistant in a general practice grouping at a university. “I absolutely loved it,” Helen said ..read more

A letter from Dr Amanda Doyle, national director of primary care and community services at NHS England, and Ed Garratt, chief executive of NHS Suffolk and North Essex ICB to integrated care boards, proposes plans to test new ways of working to ‘optimise the general practice operating model’ across urgent and proactive care services and further deliver on the Fuller Stocktake vision. NHS England highlighted plans for new ways of working within primary care, focusing on improving the operational use of data, optimising use of capacity, using “dedicated multi-disciplinary teams to support pa ..read more

For a recent webinar on patient communication and engagement, we were joined by a panel including Joanna Dundon (national digital lead for public engagement at Digital Health and Care Wales); Laura Adams (patient and public involvement and engagement facilitator for research and innovation at Medway NHS Foundation Trust); John Kosobucki (CEO and founder of OX.DH); and Bex Cottey (business manager at Conisbrough GPs). The panel explored considerations for successful patient engagement, approaches and experiences, technical considerations,  integration, change management and more. Introduct ..read more

What stories in the health tech space have caught our eye over recent days? Let’s take a look. Three awards for “deep domain capability and subject matter expertise” around EPRs NHS South, Central and West (SCW) Commissioning Support Unit has awarded three zero value call-off contracts to Xylem Partners, Evolution Recruitment Solutions and Apira, for the provision of “specialist services and capability” to deliver health check assurance on digital systems and solutions. SCW is commissioned to lead the process on behalf of NHS England and other customers, with the call-off contract set to run f ..read more

For our most recent panel discussion, we were joined by Andy Carruthers, CIO at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, and Alistair Eaton, CEO at CCube Solutions, to discuss recommended strategies for an organisation in moving to the cloud, what good looks like in this space, challenges, solutions, and more. Starting out with introductions, Andy discussed his role at University Hospitals of Leicester and the challenges the trust has faced in its digital programme, as well as how conversations about hosting and cloud are playing an increasing role in the trust’s strategy. “Historical ..read more

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has launched ‘The Silent Hospital Pilot Project’, seeking to reduce levels of noise on a postnatal ward by introducing technology capable of silencing patient call bells and driving the audible alerts to staff mobile phones instead. To evaluate the pilot’s success, the trust aims to measure the “actual reduction of noise and the qualitative benefits in terms of improved wellbeing, faster recovery and better communication”, with data to be gathered from the nurse call system to measure response times and the “consistent functioning of the software”. Commenting ..read more

South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Beckett University are collaborating on a project aiming to digitise the trust’s adult ADHD and autism service, to support with diagnosis and prioritisation of services. With professor of computer science Grigoris Antoniou leading the team, the partnership will examine how computing technologies and artificial intelligence can be used to support “various stages of the clinical pathways”. Further down the line, there are ambitions to develop technology capable of being widely deployed within the NHS and across other providers. Prof ..read more

For our latest interview, we spoke with Alcidion’s chief medical officer Paul Deffley and Amanda Thornton, healthcare consultant and previous portfolio director for Lancashire and South Cumbria Health and Care Partnership. Paul and Amanda shared their thoughts on patient flow, including examples of successful projects, practical tips for NHS organisations preparing for winter, and what ‘great’ looks like. To begin, we asked Paul and Amanda to share a little of their background and experience. Paul: I’ve worked as a doctor in the NHS for 20 years, across various hospital roles. I’ve worked ..read more

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust has shared the launch of a new digital data centre at its Dewsbury and District Hospital site, designed to “support the 24/7 operation of a vast range of digital systems” underpinning clinical and non-clinical activities. The trust states that the new centre will house around 300 servers, together with storing and managing data, to provide “crucial improvements” to its IT infrastructure and performance, with hopes that the “increased system resilience will allow for a more safe and secure service” with more robust cyber security, fewer unplanned outages and a ..read more

Here at HTN we are gearing up for a busy month in May – take a look at our upcoming events schedule below, and don’t forget to complete this form if you would like to attend any of the sessions. 7 May: how to leverage the Microsoft national tenant and tech from OX.DH for virtual consultations In this webinar (12pm – 12:30pm), we will be joined by John Kosobucki, CEO of OX.DH, to learn how to utilise the Microsoft national tenant and technology from OX.DH for virtual consultations and virtual waiting rooms. We’ll hear how healthcare providers have utilised the solution; discuss the clinical ex ..read more