21st National Health Summit

I really enjoyed presenting and attending this year’s National Health Summit. The range of topics was fantastic, and it was great to hear from fantastic speakers. It was lovely to get to present some practical suggestions on how to improve productivity using behavioural science drawing on last year’s discussion paper.

I was particularly struck by the case study presented by Rachael Ellis from Hull University Teaching Hospital on the NHS Scan4Safety programme. It has increased efficiencies and enhanced patient safety through integrating GS1 standards and barcode scanning in healthcare settings. The benefits realised across the NHS include the release of 140,000 hours of clinical time back to patient care. For me it really got across the benefits of patient journey mapping and using technology to facilitate care delivery and follow up.

Also striking was the experiences of Ciara M. Moore from Essex NHS Foundation Trust of how use of electronic health care records reduces time on administrative tasks and frees up staff time for increased patient care.