North East Ambulance selected as Ambulance GDE

  • 14 December 2017
North East Ambulance selected as Ambulance GDE

North East Ambulance Service NHS Trust has been selected to be one of four ambulance services to become a Global Digital Exemplar.

The Ambulance trustā€™s imminent GDE status was revealed by trust chief executive Yvonne Armston at an event on the Great Northern Care Record in Newcastle on Tuesday (28 November).

ā€œWe are one of four Ambulance trusts to have been selected to become a GDE,” said Armston. ā€œWe are just waiting to be confirmed as a GDE.ā€

Digital Health News understands that four ambulance trusts have been approached to apply to become Ambulance GDEs, with four expected to be selected.

She said North East Ambulance will focus its GDE efforts on ensuring staff have access to the patient information they need.Ā  ā€œDetailed patient information is key.Ā  Our staff often touch patients for a short time with very little information.ā€

North East Ambulance is already a participant in the Great Northern Care Record, which through the Medical Interoperability Gateway provides control room staff with access to extracts of the patientā€™s GP record ā€œthat access helps them evaluate risks to patients,” explained Armston.

She said access to the GP record extract has proved particularly helpful for patients with mental health conditions. ā€œThe GP record has told control room staff what diagnosis a patient has had and whether there have been any attempts at suicide.ā€

ā€œFor palliative care patients it means being able to identify whether a patient has an emergency healthcare plan.ā€

She said another key use case is when calls get cut off.Ā  ā€œOften we have calls that get cut off and if that happens a clinician can look into patientā€™s details.ā€

Armston gave an example of a patient who had fallen down stairs, and a search had shown that the patient had Alzheimers. It was later found the patient had not taken their medications that morning.

Another example given of the benefit of MIG was a patient who should have been on Anti-coagulants but whoā€™s medications list didnā€™t include as patient had self-discharged and not been back to GP.

If confirmed, the trustā€™s GDE bid will see MIG access extended from control room to paramedic staff, Armston explained.

Our aim is to provide access to MIG across all touch points. ā€œMeds management is a huge area for us and we wouldnā€™t be able to do unless we could work across the whole region.Ā  Itā€™s really exciting to be part of that.ā€

Speaking on a panel of five chief executives at the launch of the Great Northern Care Record (GNCR) Network, Armston said: ā€œThe GNCR Network has offered us an opportunity to access that patient information. Iā€™m really pleased to see a consistent regional approach.ā€

She added: ā€œIt was an influencing factor in pur success as a GDR and being able to quote our GNCR participation.ā€

She joked that she was not technical but had become a convert ā€œI initially thought MIG was some kind of fighter jetā€.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Sign up

Related News

Scotlandā€™s main GP software supplier goes into administration

Scotlandā€™s main GP software supplier goes into administration

The main GP software supplier for Scotland has voluntarily placed itself under administration owing to financial difficulties.
Accurx calls for modern GP access to be spread to all practices

Accurx calls for modern GP access to be spread to all practices

Accurx, has published a report calling for NHSE's modern GP access model to be spread to all practices, so help manage record-level demand.
Digital Dermatology pathway for primary care launched in Scotland

Digital Dermatology pathway for primary care launched in Scotland

An app aimed to helping faster diagnosis and assessment of skin conditions is being rolled out across primary care in Scotland.