News

NHS staff and representatives from industry were invited to explore technologies that could enable a fully connected patient pathway in Leeds yesterday.

The event, which was organised by Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network in partnership with the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) was held at Cloth Hall Court and was attended by more than 80 delegates.

Delegates were able to explore what technologies are available, potentially from other industries such as the oil and gas industry that could be applied in a hospital environment to create a ‘connected patient pathway’.

Throughout the morning delegates heard from a variety of speakers before taking part in an afternoon of round table sessions. These sessions gave NHS staff the opportunity to:

• Challenge industry to come up with solutions to identified NHS problems
• Learn about new technologies currently in development
• Give feedback on new innovations to developers

The event built on the success of the Scan4Safety programme at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT).

The Scan4Safety foundation programme in Leeds has successfully increased patient visibility, hospital product tracking and understanding of the hospital’s supply chain, allowing LTHT to put the focus on patients, reduce the time spent on administrative tasks and work towards the national ambition of a paper-light NHS. So far the program has saved £2.3 million.

Feedback from delegates was positive. Comments included:

“It was interesting to see what is out there and to help increase productivity and to make the patient experience meaningful.”

“It’s been an excellent networking opportunity.”

“It’s great to see how other people work and look at the different systems they use.”

“An absolutely excellent and well run conference. Some very moving stories and presentations that definitely inspired me to challenge my own perceptions.”

“This event had an impressive clinical focus.”

After the event organiser Ben Martyn, Business Development Officer and Analyst at Yorkshire & Humber AHSN, said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to making this event a success.

“I’m especially grateful to all our speakers and workshop facilitators for their energy and hard work.”