Kent and Medway partnership seals the deal with Civica

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) has partnered with Civica in a new five-year contract to implement an electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) system.

KMPT will implement Civica Prescribing as part of its long-term integrated health and social care strategy, supporting the government’s pledge to provide £75 million extra to trusts to help bring in ePMA systems which was announced in February 2018.

Formed in 2006, KMPT provides secondary mental health services on behalf of eight local Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), Kent County Council and NHS Specialist Commissioning, both in the community and within inpatient settings.

With 66 premises located on 33 sites, the trust covers a large population of 1.8 million, while employing more than 3,400 people. In 2017, the trust cared for nearly 50,000 people, involving more than half a million contacts.

Civica Prescribing will integrate with the trust’s existing patient administration system (PAS) to avoid duplication of effort, increase operational efficiency and improve patient safety.

Karen Bartlett, advanced clinical pharmacist and prescribing lead at KMPT, said: “As a trust operating across the health and social care sector, we were seeking a trusted partner who understood the specific issues of prescribing within the mental health environment to help us maintain our high patient safety standards across KMPT.

“Civica Prescribing offers an intuitive and easy-to-use platform which can be specifically tailored to our needs, alongside the integration and flexibility needed to support our long-term development plan.”

KMPT is not the only NHS trusts working with Civica. In 2019, the company struck deals with the Northern Ambulance Alliance and Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Steve Brain, executive director of health and care at Civica, added: “Technology, software and automation are key enablers to increase safety and drive efficiencies across the NHS.

“Civica Prescribing will provide KMPT with a number of safety and operational benefits to support both its local and national strategic integrated health objectives.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the Trust to advance its electronic prescribing and support its vision to drive digital transformation, optimise medicine management and provide the best patient care.”