Industry news in brief

This month’s industry nibs include nominated trusts in the running for best global digital exemplar, major contract deals and how much NHS trusts are spending per day on PCs.

EHI Awards 2017 shortlist announcement

Four NHS foundation trusts are in the running for a new award to recognise the best global digital exemplar of the year.

Cambridge University Hospitals, Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Oxford University Hospitals, and Royal Berkshire NHS foundation trusts have been shortlisted in the new category of the EHI Awards 2017. Teams from the four organisations will now attend a judging day on 30 October. In total, 49 individuals and organisations have been shortlisted in ten categories of this year’s awards, which are being co-located with the EHI Live conference and exhibition for the first time. 

The awards will be presented at EHI Live 2017, NEC in Birmingham on 31 October. The other categories in this year’s awards include; chief clinical information officer of the year, chief information officer of the year and, healthcare industry leader (a people’s choice award).

Virgin Care selects Redcentric for major VDI contract

Managed services provider Redcentric has announced its largest deal to date for the provision of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).

It has signed a contract to supply Virgin Care with an initial 2000 user capacity VDI environment, worth in excess of £2.5 million over five years.  Virgin Care, one of the UK’s leading private providers of front line NHS and social care services, has adopted VDI as its technology of choice. “Redcentric’s VDI solution, with its fully managed and supported delivery and ability to scale quickly, allows us to provide our teams with clinical, social care and back office systems at the touch of a button, enabling fast onboarding and centralised management”, Parker Moss, chief technology officer said. He said it also gives allows an opportunity to reengineer the front end experience, to give clinicians and healthcare staff a desktop that actually works for them and their patients.

Amsterdam University Hospital breaks ground in its medical training with Sectra education portal

International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra’s solution for medical education and clinical training, Sectra Education Portal, is now in use at the Amsterdam Center for Radiological Anatomy (ACRA).

ACRA is part of the Academic Medical Center (AMC) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Sectra Education Portal and its interactive tools such as the Sectra Table provide teachers and students with virtual representations of real bodies rendered from clinical imaging. All medical students at the Amsterdam hospital will now be able to digitally interact with renderings of real-life medical cases, allowing for deeper understanding and insight into anatomy. Teachers and students will now be able to access and interact with these cases repeatedly during their education.

NHS trusts spending £158,038 per day on PCs

NHS trusts in England are spending £158,038 on new PCs per day, according to figures obtained via freedom of information requests by Crucial.

The memory and storage company revealed that despite high spend on new hardware, more than 42% of healthcare workers feel like IT hinders them from doing their job. Freedom of information requests sent to 235 NHS trusts in England, of which 197 replied, revealed that since the beginning of 2013, NHS trusts have disposed of 219,232 laptops and computers, which equates to 43,846 PCs and laptops every year and 120 every day. During the same period, NHS trusts in England spent £260,921,246 on 384,714 new PCs, at an average cost of £678.22.

New platform launches connecting employers to people with long-term health problems

David Shutts OBE was diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer on the day of his 50th birthday, two years ago. Shutts is currently undergoing chemo, with the diagnoses impacting every area of his life – physical health, mental health, financial and social. He was used to working full time and enjoyed all the social interaction, challenges and rewards that work brings.  When that was removed in such a sudden way his self-confidence, self-belief and what he perceived as his value to the world diminished.

Despite his battles, he formed Astriid, a not-for-profit organisation which aims to help people whose lives are affected by chronic, long term illness, by finding them paid and voluntary work. It is for those who feel that they are unable to commit to a full time or even a regular part time role due to the impact of their medical condition. “When cancer comes along…  you become a cancer victim, so I was commander David Shutts, I have an OBE from her majesty in 2009 for leadership, I have been vice president in a commercial organisation, I was a regional director for a large lobby organisation, and all of that went in an instant. And I became David Shutts cancer victim”, Shutts said. The former Royal Navy marine engineer officer of 25 years has spent time giving talks about his experience with cancer and work, about how cancer has affected normal life, and in particular how employers and managers can help support cancer patients in the work environment. To find out more about the tool, built by Salesforce, click here.

Gestational diabetes app recommended for NHS Digital Tools Library

GDm-Health, the first gestational diabetes patient-to-clinician mobile app, has been recommended for publication in the NHS Digital Tools Library.

GDm-Health is a digital health solution being commercialised by Drayson Technologies as part of its exclusive partnership with the University of Oxford and Oxford University Hospitals Trust, announced earlier this year. It was developed to support women manage their gestational diabetes better, while reducing the number of hospital visits, and has been clinically evaluated in more than 1,000 patients. Following an extensive review by NHS Digital the system has been found to be both safe and convenient for women, while facilitating more effective team-based care. NHS Digital is commissioned by NICE to conduct technical reviews of digital services to ensure they are technically sound. Hazel Jones, programme director – apps and wearables at NHS Digital said tapping into digital tools created by health specialists in the marketplace and applying the NHS Digital Assessment process means we can select the right tools to accelerate the delivery of a meaningful digital experience.. Our strategy is firmly fixed on leveraging mHealth innovation to provide better health and wellbeing outcomes, and GDm-Health is a perfect example of that”, Jones said. ​

Norfolk and Norwich Renew Valued Partnership with Fujifilm

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was one of the first NHS trusts to implement a fully integrated PACS system in 2001.

 In 2012 they agreed a managed service contract with Fujifilm and installed Synapse PACS and Synapse 3D. The current managed service contract, which has just been renewed, includes a fully integrated PACS system within the trust and satellite hospitals, in addition to 15 plain film x-ray retrofits, and over 80 reporting / clinical PACS workstations. Fujifilm Synapse PACS at the Norfolk and Norwich now provides instant access to more than 16 years’ worth of clinical imaging (4.6 million studies / 260 million images) across multiple sites with seamless integration with market leading applications such as CVI42 and Cadens. This, combined with more than 100 reporting and clinical workstations, allow for instant and accurate diagnosis for patients throughout the region.

Oxford University Hospital showcases innovation and history

Oxford University Hospitals opened its doors to the public earlier this month to show visitors the latest in cutting-edge imaging technology at the John Radcliffe Hospital – and some of the Churchill Hospital’s wartime history.

The four tours – two at each hospital – were part of the annual Oxford Open Doors event, organised by the Oxford Preservation Society in partnership with the University of Oxford. Two of the tours were to the University of Oxford’s Acute Vascular Imaging Centre (AVIC), based at the John Radcliffe. Using the latest technology in imaging and diagnostics, the centre is improving treatment of heart attacks and stroke, according to the trust. Tours at the Churchill focused on the history of the hospital, which was built in 1942 as an American military medical facility, as well as the creation of the world-leading research facilities in the Cancer Centre.