More patients and healthcare staff are set to benefit from single electronic patient records after the UK Government announced £8.7m funding to be shared among seven hospital trusts, in order to introduce digital records and e-prescribing capabilities.
Minister for Patient Safety Nadine Dorries made the announcement to mark World Patient Safety Day, with the funding set to add to the 130 NHS trusts who have already seen similar systems and support rolled out to them.
As part of achieving goals laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan to introduce electronic prescribing systems across the NHS, more than £78m is to be invested across the NHS.
In the seven NHS trusts, access to potentially lifesaving information on prescribed medicines and patient history will be significantly sped up, as well as allowing trusts to build a more complete, single electronic patient record, which reduces duplication of information-gathering, saves staff time and can reduce medication errors by up to 30%.
Speaking at an Imperial College London event to mark World Patient Safety Day, Minister for Patient Safety Nadine Dorries said: “World Patient Safety Day this year comes at a more important time than ever, with healthcare systems and workers across the world tested like never before.
“In my role I have seen first-hand the dedication and care demonstrated by so many of my colleagues in the NHS and this year’s theme of health worker safety is a vital one.
“Today I am also pleased to announce the 7 trusts receiving a share of £8.7m to help eliminate paper prescriptions. This will not only help reduce potentially deadly medication errors but save our hardworking staff valuable time.”
