2008 Healthcare IM&T team of the year

Winner

NHS Pathways

An emergency care solution by the NHS for the NHS

NHS Pathways is a system developed by an impressive 16-strong multi-disciplinary team working together virtually. The team has created an electronic clinical assessment system for emergency and unplanned care which enables all callers to any service to have their clinical needs assessed effectively and consistently by the call taker they speak to. It then enables referral directly to the most appropriate provider in their local area. NHS Pathways has been piloted in three areas serving a total population of over four million with significant benefits for care integration. In the North East Ambulance Area alone the system is saving an estimated 700 inappropriate ambulance journeys per month and a wider national roll-out is planned.

Finalists

Electronic prescribing in children - Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust

Responding to a national drive to tackle the problem of paediatric medication errors Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust became the first UK children's hospital to implement an electronic prescribing system. The multidisciplinary team, included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, change agents and staff from the ICT department at the hospital, together with academics at the Centre for Paediatric Pharmacy Research. Evaluation shows that the electronic prescribing system has enhanced patient care by reducing prescribing medication errors. The system has been well accepted by staff and is being rolled out across the entire trust. It is expected to increase the efficiency of medicines management in the hospital by improving patients' medication records. [The system has had to be reduced in scope recently due to infrastructure work. A full service is expected to be restored in 2009]

Electronic ordering of pathology tests - Stockport NHS Foundation Trust

Within eight months, a multi-disciplinary team from Stockport has successfully transformed the way clinicians order pathology investigations, not only from the in-patient wards, but also from our outpatient and pre-operative environments. In October 2007, only 5% of pathology requests were made online compared to 92% in June 2008. More than 192,000 orders have been placed so far. The project was preceded by real time recording of admissions, discharges and transfers by nursing staff at ward level, using iSoft's "Patient Centre".