Healthcare Roundup

Seven days in the NHS and health IT

Hewitt review of ICSs published

Former health minister Patricia Hewitt has published her review of integrated care systems. The Hewitt Review says the ten “most mature” ICSs should be allowed to operate as “high accountability and responsibility partnerships” or HARPs from next April. It also says: there should be a major reduction in central targets and “distracting” data requests from NHS England; that the CQC should appoint a “chief inspector of systems”; that the GP contact should be reformed; that “citizen health accounts” should be set-up to give people more control over their information; and that there should be a “national mission for health improvement” led by the prime minister.

The Health Service Journal reported that ministers and NHS England gave non-committal responses to the review; which was commissioned by chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation, and widely seen as one of the key influences on the report, welcomed it and said “what we need now is a cultural and behavioural shift” to enable ICSs to deliver on the remit set for them. Other commentators noted that previous attempts to decentralise the NHS have come to little; and calls to focus on prevention are not new and fly in the face of ongoing reductions to public health budgets.

Government slashes social care investment – including tech

The government has further undermined its already compromised social care agenda by cutting the funds available to support it. Various publications reported on Tuesday that the £1.7 billion promised in the 2021 social care white paper has been slashed by ministers – with the £150 million promised for digital technology capped at £100 million (Health Service Journal). King’s Fund director of policy Sally Warren said on Twitter that she had “rarely felt the fury” that she felt at the “massive retreat from what was already bare minimum first steps in long-term reform.” A DHSC release says the government remains “fully committed” to the ten-year “vision” of its white paper.

University Hospitals of Leicester goes live with Nervecentre order comms – and prepares to deploy PAS

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has deployed the Nervecentre order communications system across its three hospitals. The development is part of the progressive development and deployment of an electronic patient record system. The trust already uses Nervecentre modules in its emergency department, for e-prescribing, infection control, and to track patient flow. Chief information officer Andy Carruthers told the Health Tech Newspaper the go-live had been straightforward and integration between the different modules is delivering time, efficiency and patient safety benefits. The trust is due to deploy a Nervecentre patient administration system later this year.

Health IT news: NHS England completes mergers; CTCC contract placed by South West ICS; Greater Manchester starts Sectra digital pathology go-live, CaseCapture supports national emergency surgery audit

NHS England has completed the series of mergers that started with NHSX and NHS Digital by absorbing Health Education England. It has also launched a photography competition with Fujifilm to mark 75 years of the NHS this summer. Meanwhile, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire has announced a partnership with Faculty to develop ‘intelligent care traffic control centres’ to identify and address pressure across its patch (Health Tech Newspaper). The move is likely to be the first of a number of CTCC announcements, as NHS England has indicated that it wants to see investment in bed management and flow systems ahead of next winter.

Sectra has announced that NHS laboratories across Greater Manchester have started to go live with its digital pathology module. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which hosts one of seven NHS laboratories in the region, has completed the technical go-live of the module, which is part of an enterprise imaging solution that is already used to view and report on radiology images (Health Tech World). The Royal College of Anaesthetists has been using CaseCapture from Net Solving to support the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit, which is conducted to reduce mortality and improve quality (CaseCapture case study).

Company news: TSS acquires IMS MAXIMS; IMMJ Systems rebrands as Mizaic; Hyland retrenches

Total Specific Solutions has acquired Irish Medical Systems (Holdings), the company behind IMS MAXIMS, digitalhealth.net has reported. IMS MAXIMS has a footprint in Ireland, and also provides electronic patient record software to Ramsay Healthcare, the government of Jersey, and a small number of NHS trusts. TSS is a global provider of IT business solutions with a healthcare vertical. Electronic document management system provider IMMJ Systems has rebranded as Mizaic, after securing investment to expand its trust base, digitalhealth.net has reported. Another EDM and content platform provider, Hyland, has announced a significant restructuring and plans to reduce its workforce by 20%, the Health Tech Newspaper has reported.

What should be top of mind for the new NHS CIO?

Analysis

The NHS is looking for a new chief information officer, and the Highland Marketing advisory board has been considering what should be on his or her ‘to do’ list.