Awards for Lancashire and south Cumbria digital health pioneers

Two Lancashire health teams whose work has spread across the country to benefit hundreds of thousands of health professionals and patients, were presented with awards sponsored by the Innovation Agency.

They were among seven winners at the North West Skills Development Network’s Informatics Awards, part of the ‘Connect 2017’ conference to showcase pioneering work in digital health.

The Innovation Award winners were the Information Sharing Gateway team at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay.

The Gateway is a system which allows different organisations to meet governance standards when sharing information. It was created to support the Lancashire Person Record Exchange System, or LPRES, a programme which won the Collaboration Award, also sponsored by the Innovation Agency.

The Information Sharing Gateway is now being used by more than 1,100 organisations all over the country.

Information Sharing Gateway Programme Manager Kevin Whittaker said: “The award win is a real coup for the team and we are thrilled to have won it. People rely on the efficient and safe sharing of their data to ensure that professionals have access to the information they need whenever and wherever they access services.”

Aaron Cummins, Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Finance, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the team. The ISG system now means that data is able to flow between organisations provided that there is a justified purpose, allowing the delivery of seamless care, providing clinicians with complete and up-to-date information and enabling health research.”

The Lancashire Person Record Exchange, or LPRES, enables the exchange of clinical and social care information to and from front line clinical and social care professionals without the need to build a separate database. It connects more than 300 GP practices, four major hospital trusts, a mental health trust, Lancashire County Council, two upper tier authorities and some private providers.

Head of LPRES Tony Schaffel said: “The last year has been very successful for LPRES and the team and I are looking forward to making 2018 even more successful as we exploit the full range of the capabilities of LPRES.”

Dr Nicholas Wood, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist and Chief Clinical Information Officer at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “All information published on LPRES will also be available to staff with appropriate securities in a ‘shared record viewer’.

“This means that clinicians can access all necessary information at the point of care including the GP detailed care summary, end of life care plans, hospital discharge summaries and hospital clinic letters.

“In the future there will be a citizen/patient platform allowing patients to access their health care records, coordinate appointments, interact with their clinicians and access health or disease specific applications that link with the electronic patient record.”

The Innovation Agency’s Director of Digital Health Alan Davies said: “It’s fantastic to see how successful these projects have become in the North West – and how widely they are now being adopted around the region and the rest of the country.

“The North West is a hot bed for innovation in digital health and we are delighted to support our partners in leading the way in connecting up care professionals across the system in health and care.”