Member Article

Wetherby medical software company lands two NHS contracts in Durham

A Wetherby-based medical software company had landed two prestigious NHS contracts in the North East.

Blackbox Medical, whose pioneering software package is designed to save time, money and lives, has signed deals with two Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Co Durham.

These contracts mean that family doctors in the North-East are the first in the country to use the software, which radically improves safety for primary care patients and communication between hospitals and GPs.

Doctors in Co Durham will now be able to compare their patients’ hospital treatment discharge information, which is often inadequate for proper aftercare, with more detailed data provided later.

Currently, GPs are usually only sent a brief, sometimes handwritten, discharge letter after their patients leave hospital. This often results in GPs being given inadequate information until the full details are processed later.

As a consequence, the patient is exposed to the risk of the doctor being unaware of the required follow-up treatment and possible changes to medication.

A spokesman for Blackbox Medical, based in Audby Court, Wetherby, explained: “The root of the problem is the current incompatibility between the computer software used by NHS hospitals and those used by GPs. Letters are late or never sent, while the information on them can be scant and therefore misleading. It is only when the hospital detailed SUS (Secondary Uses Service) data is received that it can be accurately checked and patient records corrected”.

Durham Dales, Easington and Sedgefield Clinical Commissioning Group (DDES CCG) and North Durham Clinical Commissioning Group are the first in the UK to purchase the specialist software.

Dr Stewart Findlay, chief clinical officer for the DDES CCGT, said: “We were pleased to find a solution to this patient safety issue which enables us to assure all the patients in our region that we consider their wellbeing a high priority. It will also improve the efficiency of our CCG management team.”

In August a patient safety alert was issued by NHS England after it was discovered that between October 2012 and September 2013 there were around 10,000 reports of patient safety incidents relating to discharge.

The alert said the failure to provide medical and social care staff with adequate and timely information at the point of handover could result in avoidable death and serious harm to patients.

Dr Michael Dixon, chairman of the NHS Alliance, which represents NHS trusts, said: “We cannot continue to risk patient safety, nor can we continue to fund avoidable readmissions, simply because too many hospitals regularly fail to get critical information to GPs when their patients are discharged.

He added: “The situation is high-risk and unacceptable. It wastes money and threatens lives. At last a solution is now available.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Robert Beaumont .