Work continues on NHS Wales national critical care information system

Work has continued on the roll out of a national critical care information system across NHS hospitals in Wales with the creation of 25 new specialist IT jobs.

The jobs, 13 with Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) and 12 with Ascom, are for a joint project team to help deliver Ascom’s digistat clinical information system (CIS).

The system aims to allow intensive care staff across Wales’ 14 standard adult critical care units to manage many aspects of care electronically.

Previously, just three of Wales’ units used electronic systems from other suppliers, while the remainder used paper records. The new system will transform care digitally and give staff a single source of truth for patient information.

Among the new appointments to the project team are Nicola Duglan-John, a clinical consultant for Ascom, and Stephanie Mahoney, lead specialist for data standards at DHCW.

Mahoney said: “I’m looking forward to making data visible to help improve patient care. By collecting all this information electronically, we will be able to help improve healthcare planning, as well as looking at trends in patient outcomes to develop different treatments in intensive care.

“I am really impressed by the fact that Digistat can pull information together without duplication from a number of sources, including medical devices. It will save staff so much time as well as making patient care safer.”

The Ascom contract is for seven years with the option to extend for a further three years and includes the end-to-end implementation of Digistat through a managed service contract.

The technology will begin rolling out at The Grange University Hospital later this year, followed by a phased rollout to other units until 2023. Around 10,000 people were admitted to Wales’ 198 intensive care beds in 2019.

Ascom UK managing director Paul Lawrenc, added: “We are very proud to have created so many highly specialised posts with Ascom, and our team is looking forward to partnering with DHCW to create the very best system possible for Wales’ critical care staff.”

Digital Health and Care Wales was officially launched on 1 April 2021. It was previously known as the Wales Informatics Service and it is focused on delivery, innovation and support for individual health and wellbeing for those living in Wales.