NHS staff were forced to hand deliver urgent patient referrals to hospitals in Yorkshire after key IT systems collapsed, a report has revealed. The crisis severely affected 76 GP practices across Bradford leading to a huge backlog of work.Clinics were disrupted as the emergency lasting more than three weeks caused delays making routine hospital referrals and affected tests, results and prescriptions.An independent review of the incident said many surgeries turned to fax machines to send fast-track referrals to specialists but some no longer using the technology relied on staff collecting paper forms for delivery directly to local hospitals.Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has ordered NHS chiefs to scrap fax machines by next March but the report warns officials need to consider alternatives in case of future breakdowns.It reveals the risk of major IT failure at the former headquarters of Bradford’s NHS clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) was well known.But officials … [Read more...] about Bradford GP surgeries used fax machines and paper forms for urgent referrals after IT systems collapse
Brothers 575 fax machine
Alan Mak: Time to update NHS and ditch the fax machine
0 Have your say THE NHS is our most valued public service. It has been there for me and my family and I am determined to ensure its continued success. Last year’s celebrations to mark the NHS’s 70th anniversary highlighted some of the many breakthroughs achieved by scientists and doctors working for our NHS — breakthroughs such as proving the link between smoking and lung cancer, delivering the first in vitro fertilisation baby, and carrying out the world’s first liver, heart and lung transplant. Those are just a few of the remarkable breakthroughs that have revolutionised healthcare, allowing us to live longer, healthier lives. Just as groundbreaking as some of the Health Service’s early achievements are those that we are seeing today, as a new wave of technological innovation transforms the way that healthcare is delivered. These new breakthroughs are fuelled by artificial intelligence, big data, robotics, wearable devices and … [Read more...] about Alan Mak: Time to update NHS and ditch the fax machine
Fax machines to be banned across the NHS
News / UK and world by Press Association December 9, 2018, 8:20 am FacebookTwitterLinkedInWhatsAppEmail Sign up to our Daily newsletter Fax machines will be banned across the NHS under plans to overhaul outdated technology and IT systems. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has banned the purchasing of fax machines in the health service from next month, and has ordered the NHS to phase out the outdated machines by March 31 2020. By then, all NHS organisations will be required to use modern communication methods, such as secure email, to improve patient safety and cyber security, the Department of Health said. The Royal College of Surgeons estimated in July that more than 8,000 fax machines are still being used by the NHS. Richard Kerr, chair of the Royal College of Surgeons Commission on the Future of Surgery, said: “Earlier this year, work undertaken for the RCS’s Commission on the Future of Surgery revealed that NHS hospital trusts own over 8,000 fax … [Read more...] about Fax machines to be banned across the NHS
Fax machines will be banned across the NHS under radical plans to overhaul outdated technology
Fax machines will be banned across the NHS under radical plans to overhaul outdated technology and IT systems, The Sunday Telegraph can disclose. Matt Hancock, the Health secretary, banned hospital trusts from buying fax machines on Friday and ordered them to be phased out completely by April 2020. NHS Trusts will instead be required to invest in new technology to replace any outdated systems, using £200million of Government cash set aside for modernisation earlier this year. Mr Hancock told The Sunday Telegraph: "Because I love the NHS, I want to bring it into the 21st century and use the very best technology available. We've got to get the basics right, like having computers that work and getting... To continue reading this article Start your free trial of Premium Access all Premium articles Subscriber-only events Cancel any time Free for 30 days then only £2 per week Try Premium Access one Premium article per week … [Read more...] about Fax machines will be banned across the NHS under radical plans to overhaul outdated technology
NHS is ‘stubbornly attached’ to outdated fax machines and still uses THOUSANDS of them
THE NHS is “stubbornly attached” to fax machines, with thousands still in use across the country. Trusts in England own at least 8,946 of the outdated pieces of technology, Freedom of Information figures show. A report last year named the NHS as the world’s largest purchaser of fax machines. The technology, which scans paper sheets and prints out a copy at another machine, was popular in the 1980s and ’90s but rendered largely obsolete by email and the web. Richard Kerr, of the Royal College of Surgeons, called the NHS’s continued fax use “ludicrous” and urged it to invest in better communication. He said: “It cannot continue to rely on technology most other organisations scrapped in the early 2000s.” The RCS contacted 124 trusts, of which 86 provided data. NOT JUST SPOTS! Six common types of bumps on your skin - and the ones that could be deadly MIND OVER MATTER What are the symptoms of anxiety, how can it be treated and who … [Read more...] about NHS is ‘stubbornly attached’ to outdated fax machines and still uses THOUSANDS of them