Liverpool hospital shows off cutting-edge IT system

More than 100 NHS staff from across the country visited University Hospital Aintree, on Longmoor Lane, to witness the hospital's cutting-edge IT system, which is designed to improve the quality of patient care and safety.

The delegates, representatives of 25 NHS Trusts, learned how clinicians have worked alongside System C Healthcare to develop an innovative electronic patient record (EPR) system.

Aintree is now on course to have one of the most advanced EPR systems in the country by the end of the year. The system's features include electronic whiteboards on wards, which enable easier patient management, and close links with local GP practices so GPs and hospital doctors can see each other's patient treatment details.

Dr Libby Wilson, a consultant in Emergency Medicine at University Hospital Aintree, said: "The electronic systems provide us with a snapshot of everything that's going on in each department, giving us a whole new means of communicating between nursing and medical staff.

"For example, we can use the whiteboard to move someone who needs to be seen quickly higher up the priority status. In terms of patient safety, it is a huge improvement."

More than 3,200 staff at University Hospital Aintree use the new system in their day-to-day work.

Tracy Thrift, Assistant Director (ICT Programmes) at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, attended the conference. She said: "It's great to see a Trust using IT so successfully to enhance the patient experience. Hospital IT systems are hugely complex and Aintree has done really well."

Ward Priestman, Director of Informatics at University Hospital Aintree, said: "Our IT strategy plays a crucial role in improving the quality of care we provide by enabling clinical staff to have all the information they need at their fingertips, from electronic whiteboards on wards to patient records. The key aspect is that the clinical teams have been involved in developing the systems we need. We were delighted to share the benefits of this work with our peers so that their patients can also benefit from it."

The special visit to Aintree was followed by a demonstration of the system at the NHS Confederation Conference in Manchester, which attracted thousands of attendees from across the country.

source: http://www.hospitaliteurope.com/article/26281/Liverpool_hospital_shows_off_cutting-edge_IT_system