Major funding boost for Isle of Wight NHS
The investment's been described as a 'game changer'
Isle of Wight NHS Trust has welcomed the confirmation of £21.5m of additional funding to modernise digital technology, IT infrastructure and clinical systems.
£12.5m of the capital funding forms part of the Investing in Our Future programme (IOF) to improve NHS buildings and IT and will support improvements happening across the Trust.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust bid successfully for a further £9m to improve its clinical systems.
The investment will enhance the use of technology to ensure we can provide a safe and sustainable services that benefit our community and improve our staff experience too.
Improvements to our digital infrastructure will include replacing our current network to make way for a faster and more reliable WiFi, making it easier to use clinical technology and to communicate.
The funding will allow us to introduce a new electronic document management system (EDMS) which means all patient records will be digital and legacy records scanned onto the new system. This means clinicians and patients will be able to access information much more quickly and efficiently.
It will allow us to invest in our data warehouse to improve the quality of our data, making it quicker to retrieve, more easily managed, and provide greater insight and more informed decision-making.
The funding will enhance our delivery of critical care by allowing us to invest in a digital solution to enable faster and safer sharing of data internally, and with our partner organisations, including Portsmouth University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust will also introduce the same core clinical system that Mountbatten and our GP colleagues use to share electronic care records. SystmOne will enable seamless data sharing to ensure that clinical staff across the Trust have access to the right information at the right time. Reducing the number of systems and repeated data entry tasks will give back time to our clinicians that can be better spent with patients.
Alongside the introduction of a single system, we will offer the use of Airmid, an innovative patient-facing app, that will allow access to your medical records to support you in making informed decisions about your personal health.
Dr Nikki Turner, Director of Strategy, Partnership and Digital, said:
“This major investment is a game changer for the Island’s NHS and a major boost to our digital transformation journey.
“Investing in our IT infrastructure and clinical systems will ensure we can provide a safe and sustainable digital service that will improve patient experience and revolutionise the way our staff work.
“We look forward to sharing further benefits of our digital transformation programme over the coming months.”
Rebecca Lester, Chief Digital Information Officer, said:
“This is truly a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust to modernise its digital infrastructure and services for the benefit of citizens of the Island, and to provide modern digital tools which enable our staff to provide the best care possible to those using our services.”
Rish Jain, Foundation Year Two Doctor and Junior Clinical Information Officer said:
“A unified patient record system across an entire healthcare network, with patient level functionality, is the holy grail, and we're sitting on it!
“With properly funded upgrades to our whole digital ecosystem and infrastructure, we have a precious opportunity on the Island to truly change how we deliver healthcare and to and be a leader in it.”
Find out more about the IOF programme on our dedicated Investing in Our Future website.