Healthcare Roundup

Seven days in the NHS and health IT

UK Covid-19 Inquiry to start public hearings next week

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry will start its public evidence sessions next week. The hearings will start on Tuesday with a short film showing the impact of the pandemic on people who suffered loss, after which there will be two days of opening statements. Following that, witnesses will be called for ‘module 1’, which is going to look at the “resilience and preparedness of the UK” to cope with a major public health crisis. On Friday, the inquiry will hear from Professor Sir Michael Marmot, who has been an outspoken critic of the austerity policies of successive Conservative administrations and their impact on public services, inequality, and health.

Consultants on the verge of strike action as junior doctors prepare to walk out

Hospital consultants will walk out for two days in July if their ongoing ballot supports strike action and the government fails to come up with a “credible” pay offer before then, the British Medical Association has said. Subject to the outcome of the ballot on 27 June and assuming the government doesn’t change its stance, consultants will provide “Christmas Day cover” only on 20 and 21 July (Health Service Journal). Junior doctors will stage a walk out next week that will coincide with the NHS Confederation’s annual conference in Manchester. Doctors are looking to make up for 15 years’ of pay erosion. The government is offering 5%.

NHS news: NHS England rolls out teledermatology project; HSJ uncovers CDC staff shortfall; royal college says staff shortages are impacting cancer care; government calls on volunteers to support discharge

NHS England is going to roll-out a teledermatology project to try and speed up the diagnosis of skin cancer. GPs and community diagnostic centres will use small lenses – or dematoscopes – that can be attached to a phone camera to capture images of spots, moles or lesions for expert review. While this sounds like a nice application of cheap technology, NHS England projections analysed by the Health Service Journal suggest CDCs will face a big staff shortfall by 2025. HSJ says the biggest gaps – up to 52% of the staff required – lie in reporting pathology and imaging tests and scans.

Not that shortages are confined to CDCs. The Royal College of Radiologists has warned that all four nations of the UK are facing “chronic staff shortages” and that half of all cancer units are reporting “frequent” delays for radiotherapy and chemotherapy (BBC News). Ministers continue to say NHS England’s endlessly delayed workforce plan is “due shortly”. In the meantime, the government is going to extend the Covid-era NHS Volunteers Responders Programme into social care. The GoodSAM app will encourage volunteers to ‘check in and chat’ with vulnerable people, and pick up and deliver medicines, small items, and shopping to support hospital discharge.

Health IT news: Lilli reports success with Nottingham Discharge to Assess scheme; Docobo reports success with Liverpool cardiac surgery waiting list initiative; Cambric Systems to provide EPR to NTC Highland

Lilli has claimed that its remote monitoring technology has helped to accelerate discharge and avoid care home admissions in a Discharge to Assess scheme with Nottingham City Council Housing Services (Digitalhealth.net). Docobo has also reported good results from a trial at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital to monitor and support patients waiting for cardiac surgery (Digitalhealth.net). Cambric Systems is going to supply the National Treatment Centre Highland with its Morse electronic patient record and m-Forms. The facility is one of ten treatment centres funded by the Scottish Government to tackle the elective backlog and will focus on eye care and orthopaedics (Health Tech World).

GP tech news: NHS England plans new frameworks and SCG launches X-on Health to advance cloud telephony

NHS England has released a prior information notice to inform the primary care technology market that it will be putting together a new framework for primary care patient record systems, triage, patient-facing technology and digital support services. In total, this could be worth just under £1 billion to suppliers (Health Tech Newspaper). SCG, which acquired X-on in March 2022, has announced that it is launching X-on Health as a dedicated business unit. Another SCG subsidiary, Switch Medical, will be part of the new team. X-on is a leader in cloud telephony, thanks to its Surgery Connect system, which is used by about 30% of GP surgeries (digitalhealth.net).

Some challenges in the NHS acute tech market: and how to navigate them

Analysis

NHS trusts need a lot of technology, but they face complex, structural challenges when it comes to procurement, and these tend to work against smaller companies and innovation. The Highland Marketing advisory board met recently to discuss the issues and the role of marketing.