Healthcare Roundup

Seven days in the NHS and health IT

Public not on board with government handling of NHS in England

Public support for the government’s management of the NHS in England has dropped to a 20-year low, according to a survey run by Ipsos and the Health Foundation. Just 8% of those surveyed thought the government had appropriate plans for the NHS, even though only a third thought it is providing a good service, 62% expected things to get worse, and 82% thought more funding is needed (Sky News). Ministers are about to start talking to the Royal College of Nursing on pay. The union has called off March’s 48-hour strike (BBC News), but Unison is pushing ahead with a day of action on 8 March (Unison website).

Audit Scotland calls for transparency on NHS recovery

Scotland’s spending watchdog has called for “full transparency” from the Scottish Government about how long it expects it will take the NHS to recover from Covid-19 and to reform services. Audit Scotland says the government’s NHS recovery plan “lacks the robust modelling” that is required to fully understand demand and capacity and “does not contain the detailed actions” that are needed to address them and measure progress. The auditors argue lack of workforce “remains the biggest risk”; although health boards face financial challenges that “limit how much they can invest” in recovery and innovation.

NHS England publishes net zero roadmap for suppliers facing big milestone in April

NHS England has published an NHS net zero supplier roadmap that sets out the steps that suppliers will be expected to take to align with its ambition to become the first net zero healthcare system in the world. From April this year, suppliers that want to bid for and win government contracts for goods or services with an anticipated contract value over £5 million per year will be expected to have measured their carbon emissions and published a carbon reduction plan. The roadmap explains how this will translate to the NHS.

Suppliers will be expected to state a range of defined emissions and to be aiming for net zero by 2050 or earlier (the NHS is ‘encouraging’ vendors to aim for 2045). The plans must have board-level sign off, be published on a supplier’s website, and be updated at least annually. Suppliers must also be ready to fill in mandatory questions about their climate commitments when bidding for inclusion on procurement frameworks or for contracts. TechUK said it was pleased the roadmap aligns with wider government requirements known as PPN 0621, since this will enable companies working across government to work within one process.

EPR news: Sheffield picks Cerner, Northern Ireland plans first Encompass go-live, but Guy’s and St Thomas’ delays Epic move until the autumn

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has chosen Cerner Millennium as its new electronic patient record. The Health Service Journal reported the trust has agreed a ten-year deal worth £85 million with Oracle Cerner to replace its legacy EPR, the Lorenzo system currently owned by Dedalus. The deal includes provision for neighbouring trusts in the South Yorkshire integrated care system to take the same EPR; although Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust uses System C and The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust is a long-standing Meditech customer. Sheffield Teaching Hospitals is hoping to deploy next year.

Meanwhile, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland’s Encompass programme is set to take a major step forward. The Health Tech Newspaper has reported that South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust will be the first to go-live with an digital integrated care record, underpinned by Epic, in November. Other trusts will follow next year. However, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has delayed its high-profile deployment of the same EPR. The trust was due to go-live with Epic in April, but has pushed the date back to the autumn because of data migration issues (HSJ).

Health IT news: NHS England appoints another interim CCIO; Government invests in veterans’ health tech

NHS England has appointed a new, interim chief clinical information officer. Digitalhealth.net has reported that Dr Melanie Iles will become the first, female holder of the post. Dr Iles is an internal appointment. She was previously medical director for system improvement and professional standards, and before that regional medical director for the East of England. The Cabinet Office has announced that £5 million will be invested in 22 projects to improve veterans’ healthcare. The projects include bids to create better prosthetics and new wound-healing techniques. The University of Exeter will also work with IonaMind on AI tech to treat depression and anxiety among female veterans.

Deployment news: for X-on and Civica

NHS Herford and Worcestershire has completed the roll-out of X-on’s Surgery Connect to all GPs that want it. A case study on Health Tech World explains that the system was given a boost by the Covid-19 pandemic, when it enables GPs to work remotely. Now it is in use by all but eight practices, it will enable GPs to support each other and make it easier to direct patients to the service they need. Lincolnshire Community Health Services NHS Trust has implemented Civica’s scheduling software to better match skills with caseload, digitalhealth.net has reported. Clinicians will be able to view their schedules via an app.

Communicating in a crisis: health tech in 2023

Highland Marketing Blog

2022 has thrown up three big trends that will continue into 2023. These are: the ongoing crisis in the NHS, changes in IT policy and leadership, and a mutating media landscape. Highland Marketing co-founders Mark and Susan Venables consider what they mean for marketing, PR and communications in the year ahead.