Digital Health’s monthly roundup of contracts and go lives

Our latest roundup of contracts and go lives features Mid and South Essex choosing SYNLAB for a £900 million pathology contract and Birmingham and Solihull Integrated Care Board (ICB) launching a digital social prescribing system.

Northumbria Healthcare goes live with CLEO SOLO EPS

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has announced that it has gone live with an electronic prescription system (EPS) from CLEO Systems in its pregnancy assessment unit.

The CLEO SOLO EPS was deployed by the trust in July 2024, after signing a three year contract.

The system is intending to reduce waiting times by enabling clinicians to prescribe medication electronically, which patients can collect from their nominated pharmacy.

North London Mental Health Partnership goes live with PHR

North London Mental Health Partnership (NLMHP) has gone live with a personal health record (PHR) and patient engagement platform from Patients Know Best.

The partnership, which comprises Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust and Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, went live with the solution on 31 July 2024.

Through implementing the solution, NLMHP aims to identify mental health deterioration in service users earlier to prevent the need for inpatient crisis treatment.

The platform will be used to share information, such as appointments and digital documentation, with service users.

Mid and South Essex selects SYNLAB for £900m pathology contract

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has selected SYNLAB as its chosen pathology supplier, despite a cyber attack which caused major disruption to services in London.

In June 2024, a ransomware attack was launched on Synnovis, a pathology partnership between SYNLAB, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

SYNLAB announced that it has been selected to deliver a single, outsourced pathology service for mid and south Essex, including blood, tissue and other sample testing as well as the operation of phlebotomy clinics.

According to a contract notice, published in July 2023, the contract will run for 15 years with an estimated worth of £935 million. The service will be used by GPs in the region, as well as clinicians at Southend, Basildon and Broomfield hospitals.

Birmingham and Solihull ICB launches digital social prescribing

A digital social prescribing system has been launched across Birmingham and Solihull ICB in a bid to help meet growing demand for mental health support.

The Access Elemental social prescribing platform went live across GP practices in the ICB’s east locality in June 2024 and is due to be rolled out across all remaining localities in September 2024.

Under a two-year contract, the Access system will enable patients to self-refer to social prescribing services as part of their mental health support. It will also enable social prescribing cases to be captured and managed digitally, removing reliance on paper and manual processes.

It is hoped the platform will reduce pressures on primary care services in the region by improving access to mental health support.

Somerset ICB to go live with continuing healthcare platform

NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board (ICB) has announced plans to implement a digital platform to help ease the transition from children and young people’s to adult care.

A three-year contract was signed with IEG4 in July 2024, with the option to extend by one year, to deliver the continuing healthcare solution.

It will go live in October 2024, with the aim of enhancing the patient experience, improving clinical efficiency, and supporting better health outcomes.