NHS to receive £150 million for programmes including improving the use of workforce software and e-prescription systems
The Government is to provide funding to boost the use of e-rostering in the NHS and improve its pharmacy IT systems as part of a wider modernisation package.
An announcement from Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) referred to the funding as part of £150 million allocated to support the NHS’s efforts to become more efficient.
It includes an unspecified amount to promote the use of the e-rostering digital systems to assign shifts to staff. This is aimed at ensuring that trusts have access to a good standard of software and understand how to make the best use of it.
The effort is hoped to produce benefits improving the use of the workforce, promoting safe staffing, improving retention and reducing the use of agency staff.
Money to improve pharmacy IT systems, along with electronic prescription and medicines administration systems, is aimed at reducing medication errors and saving the NHS £10 million a year after the first five years.
Another tranche of the £150 million is going to support energy-efficiency measures in hospitals.
Buildings boost
The funding accompanies a £760 million boost to modernise and transform the health service’s buildings. This has been distributed across 40 NHS hospitals and community services, with the largest share of up to £312 million going to the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin sustainability and transformation partnership to develop an emergency care site and separate planned care site.
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Jeremy Hunt said: “As the NHS approaches its 70th birthday, we are backing it with one of the largest capital programmes in NHS history.
“As well as a whole new emergency care development in Shropshire, we are backing local NHS services with new buildings, beds and wards so that staff who have been working incredibly hard over winter can have confidence we are expanding capacity for the future.”
Image from GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0
