The Hospital Innovations Conference took place in London last week and we were keen to hear Lord Carter give the keynote address following his report on improving productivity in the NHS.
The successful Hospital Innovations event focused on ‘Efficient productivity without compromising quality’ and a number of sessions looking at efficiency, new technologies, finance and procurement.
It’s no secret that the demands on the NHS are constantly evolving. Life expectancy is increasing and an ageing population puts greater pressure on both NHS and private healthcare services. Resources are stretched and those who manage hospitals across the UK are looking for new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing running costs and improving the delivery of patient services. Innovation is the key.
The event that will brought together key decision makers in hospital management teams who are collectively responsible for the delivery of patient services in the UK including representatives from over 20 NHS hospitals across the country.
Speakers looked at Delivering Savings and Efficiency through Strategic Procurement on the opening morning, Tuesday 26 April included David Lawson, Chief Procurement Officer, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and Gary Welch, Director of Procurement and Supply Chain, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
A recent BBC report announced ‘nearly every hospital in England is now in deficit as financial problems in the NHS threaten to spiral out of control. Hospital Innovations aims to help those working in and with the National Health Service and Private sector, come up with solutions to historic issues and learn from others already making changes and the resulting savings seen by these trusts. The sessions on Technology and Telehealth and Smart use of Space sees real examples from Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Hospital Trust and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Patient Pathways and Driving Efficiencies, two key areas following the Carter report were addressed on the second day at the conference following Lord Carter’s address. Carter Review says hospitals must standardise procedures, be more transparent and work more closely with neighbouring NHS trusts. Implementing the recommendations will help end variations in quality of care and finances that cost the NHS billions, Lord Carter has advised Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in his final report.
His review found unwarranted variation in running costs, sickness absence, infection rates and prices paid for supplies and services. As part of the review, a ‘model hospital’ has been developed which will advise NHS trusts on the most efficient allocation of resources and allows hospitals to measure performance against other trusts.
Following the model hospital examples could save hospitals £5 billion a year by 2020 to 2021 and put an end to the variations the review uncovered across the NHS.
Lord Carter said:
“My experience of the NHS and hospitals internationally is that high quality patient care and sound financial management go hand in hand. To improve the quality of care hospitals must grasp resources more effectively, especially staff, which account for more than 60 pence of every pound hospitals spend.
Giving hospitals the tools and support to better manage resources will make it easier for boards to follow the example of the best trusts and mean every patient can receive the same world class care and taxpayers will also receive a fairer return on their significant investment in the NHS”
A recent article in HefmA pulse Journal (read it here), Suvisor Asset Management Software was highlighted as a cost effective option to make the process of building management for NHS Trusts as simple as possible with a high level overview and instant specific details about the condition of buildings and facilities. They also acknowledge that users can eliminate the need for locating and carrying out lengthy analyses of historical building condition surveys, vastly reducing the time required for assessment and reporting.
The Survisor team are currently offering a no-obligation demonstration of their efficiency driven technology to illustrate how it provides critical asset data at the touch of a screen. This would be useful for Facilities Professionals and Estates Managers managing NHS Trusts. Email info@survisor.co.uk
Source: https://industrytoday.co.uk/
{module[153]}