New moves on SystmOne NUG development

SystmOne users who want to make their voices heard by those making decisions about their IT system will soon have an opportunity to get involved in the development of a national user group.

The idea of having an independent SystmOne national user group (NUG) was set in motion at a user meeting in 2007 run by SystmOne’s suppliers, TPP. Since then, Dr Paul Nathan, a GP at Hollybrook Medical Centre, Derby City PCT, has volunteered to coordinate the group in its initial stages.

Dr Nathan, who also represents SystmOne users on the NHS Connecting for Health (CfH) GP Pan User Group, announced the next stage of the process in setting up an NUG saying: "I’ve been in touch with local user groups and had a good response. The next step is to set up a user group for each SHA and for a member from each one to represent their region at the national user group."

He added "It’s time we had a national user group so that all SystmOne users, not just GPs, have an active voice and a lobbying power to influence both CfH and TPP."

The NUG will represent all users of all SystmOne which provides a suite of clinical systems serving several areas of healthcare including general practice, community health and prisons – though it is best known as a GP system.

The group is intended to be an independent forum at which users can feedback their experiences, share best practice and have an input into the development process. The group will also provide representation on other committees and professional groups.

An announcement on the TPP website asks users interested in developments to watch for further information about the SHA user groups. Anyone who would like to be involved in setting the SHA-level groups up can contact Dr Nathan at paul.nathan@nhs.net.