Lancashire Teaching Hospitals to deploy PACS

Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have announced that they are launching a £13m project to deploy PACS in its two hospitals.

The new digital imaging service, to be delivered by the Foundation trust’s local service provider, CSC, will provide the trust with high quality digital x-rays and radiological images, such as CT scans. The technology will capture, store and display the images, which doctors will be able to accurately view on computers.

Lancashire’s clinical director of imaging and diagnostic services, Professor Jonathan Hill said: “PACS provides a means of delivery of medical images and reports to the referring clinicians in a more rapid format. Images should no longer be mislaid as they lie within the computer system.

“All clinicians involved in a patient’s case will be able to access images on computers which will ensure that consultants and doctors have the images they need to hand to help review a case or aid them during a consultation.”

A spokesperson for the trust told E-Health Insider that once the PACS are fully operational, they hope they can help the hospitals the delivery of a maximum 18 week patient journey, transforming patients’ experience of the care they receive.

The technology will allow for a near filmless process, removing all the costs associated with hard film and releasing valuable space currently used for storage.

Lancashire’s consultant radiologist, Ian Harris said: “Viewing x-rays on the computer will bring a huge range of benefits. It will be possible to compare and monitor changes more closely. Subtle abnormalities will be easier to see as sections of the images can be highlighted or enlarged.

Dr Harris added: “Images and results will be viewable from anywhere across the two hospital sites on mobile, wall mounted and networked PC’s which will be sited on wards, in outpatients departments, in x-ray facilities plus in accident and emergency and theatres.”

PACS will be installed at the Royal Preston Hospital first and the Chorley and South Ribble Hospital shortly afterwards.

The system is due to become fully operational by the end of April.

In December, Connecting for Health announced that PACS have captured more than 100 million x-rays and scans, and have achieved 50% of its planned deployments. Deployments are due to be completed by the end of this year.