Industry news in brief

This month’s industry nibs features NHS academy launching a leadership training programme for community pharmacists and Ieso Digital Health being named as one of the fifty fastest growing technology companies in the UK.

NHS launches leadership training programme for community pharmacists

The NHS Academy has launched a training scheme for community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians where participants will be given the opportunity to learn leadership skills.

The six-month course will be delivered by the NHS’s Mary Seacole programme is intended to equip front-line staff with skills to deliver better services to customers.

It marks the first time that the programme has been extended to the community pharmacy sector and 600 staff will be taking part. Launched on 31 October, the course will be delivered first in London, followed by Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and the West Midlands from November. The training scheme will then roll out to 10 addition regions, NHS England said.

“This is a very exciting opportunity for community pharmacy and we hope we get an enthusiastic response,” deputy chief pharmaceutical officer at NHS England, Dr Bruce Warner said.

Ieso Digital Health named as one of the fifty fastest growing technology companies 

Ieso Digital Health, which delivers online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for people dealing with common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety, has been named as one of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the UK.

The company is the first of its kind to feature in Deloitte’s Fast 50 Awards and was ranked 23rd on the list.

Simon Cartmell, chairman of Ieso Digital Health said the award was a ‘testament’ to the company’s hard work.

“Our technology and clinical data science are simultaneously improving patient outcomes and reducing healthcare costs,” Cartmell said.

Automatic pill dispenser provides silver lining for reducing spread of bacteria

Pharmacell Medication Systems Limited has developed a brand new automatic pill dispenser which features silver lining to provide protection against bacteria and viruses.

The dispenser uses BioCote, a premium silver ion technology which makes it more hygienic and addresses the problem of cross contamination.  

This means the devices can be kept more hygienically clean for the patients, their family and visiting carers, plus pharmacists and their staff who are all regularly handling the device.  

IT supplier celebrates hat trick of awards

Microtest, an IT supplier which develops clinical software systems for GP surgeries, has been named Family Business of the Year at the Western Morning News Business Awards.

This adds to its double wins at the Cornwall Business Awards where the company was named Best Family Business and Business Innovation of the Year. 

Managing director, Chris Netherton, said the wins were a ‘fantastic tribute’ to his hard-working team.

“In our market, it is vital to be constantly innovating and improving your products, while listening carefully to your customers and delivering great service,” Netherton said.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway joins regional portal

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has become the fifth health board to join a project to create a regional portal for the West of Scotland.

Its Orion Health portal is now linked up to those in use at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Golden Jubilee National Hospital, NHS Lanarkshire, and NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

The successful completion of the project means that clinicians at hospitals serving a population of 2.2 million people can access information about their patients quickly and easily.

Selenity saves NHS £33m each year with expenses management technology

Expenses management company Selenity has announced it has saved the NHS £33 million a year.

Selenity started working with the NHS ten years ago using its Expenses Management cloud technology and now supports more than 67% of its workforce.

The technology helps to cut costs and increase efficiency by using of fast, innovative and configurable cloud services.

UK company arms robots for surgery

A British robotics company has created a new surgical instrument capable of providing assistance with delicate surgery and removing the need for extra bodies in the operating theatre.

The FreeHand system has been created by OR Productivity and consists of a robotic arm that can be integrated into existing OR equipment. The arm is precise enough to hold and manipulate laparoscopes and cameras during keyhole surgery, removing the need for medical assistants.

This allows for a steadier image throughout the surgery and means medical staff can be put to use elsewhere in the hospital, such as in A&E.

Kodak Alaris wins tender to support NHS trusts’ drive for digital excellence

Kodak Alaris has been chosen to help support University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s drive for digital excellence.

The Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) chose Kodark to assist them in driving internal efficiencies by improving the quality and accessibility of patient health records to clinicians.

Kodark evaluated UHB’s existing processes for scanning patient referrals into its content management platform and proposed a solution that would enable front-line medical staff to capture and file relevant content at their desktop, recommending that instead of passing hard copy documents onto a third-party for scanning and filing in the correct place, a process which typically has a 24-48 hour lead time, the clinician captures and files the documents themselves.

Using the embedded scan button and a connected scanner, staff will have the ability to digitise paper documents and upload the digital records onto its CMS system.

Multi-million pound project uses World Stroke day to highlight its work

To coincide with World Stroke Day, Connected Health Cities (CHC), a £20m Department of Health funded project, highlighted how it is using technology to provide better diagnosis of the condition.

The project covers three main areas which includes improving paramedics’ ability to determine whether someone is having a stroke.

Data is collected from the ambulance service, hospitals, GP practices and brain scans with all identifying information removed from patient records before analysis is undertaken.

If the project proves to be a success there are plans to roll it out across the 11 NHS hospital trusts in Greater Manchester.

SilverCloud Health announces significant expansion and investment in the UK

SilverCloud Health has announced it is planning to expand its operation in the UK.

The company, which provides online behavioural health and wellbeing solutions, has announced it is to open an office in Warwick which will create ten jobs.

SilverCloud Health recently raised more than £6m in funding and surpassed 125,000 users on its online behavioural therapy platform.

Developed by clinicians over 10 years, the SilverCloud Health platform provides online access to 27 evidence-based programmes addressing conditions such as depression, anxiety and stress.