LONDON: NHS England has revealed that it will invest £78 million this year in technology for health and social care providers across the country.
Of this funding, £43 million will form part of the Integrated Digital Care Fund that will be used by NHS Trusts and local authorities to put in place electronic information systems in order to make sharing information easier and allowing patients to only tell their story once.
“We are committed to a digital strategy to help transform health services through technology and put patients in control of their care,” claimed director of strategy systems and technology at NHS England Beverley Bryant.
“[We] welcome the latest investment in the Integrated Digital Care Fund which will help to digitise and integrate patient information across health and social care, enabling safer, more joined up services,” she added.
The remaining £35 million will go to the Nursing Technology Fund for Trusts, health charities and community health providers to spend on digital services capable of supporting nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants in their working and allowing them to spend more time with patients.
“The Nursing Technology Fund has supported nurses, midwives and care staff to carry out valuable and innovative work and will continue to empower staff to deliver safer, more effective and more efficient care,” claimed England’s chief nursing officer Jane Cummings.
Among the organisations selected to receive the funding are Marie Curie Cancer Care, Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Devon Partnership NHS Trust.
Each has received hundreds of thousands of pounds to develop technology projects in a clinical setting, including mobile, paperless and video solutions.
