Nick Rodger looks at how hospitals can promote safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness for critical care teams by embracing digitisation within the NHS.
From workforce to equipment availability, to siloed systems, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated fundamental pain points for critical care within the NHS. The adoption of new technology has accelerated to address these challenges, increasing efficiencies and improving treatment outcomes. Digitisation has enabled the shift away from paperbased systems and siloed workflows, to more streamlined, integrated, and connected systems and processes. As the NHS continues to navigate the post-COVID landscape, it is important to continue this agile approach. To relieve staff workloads and improve patient care, the NHS must fully embrace innovation and digitalisation to ensure the long-term sustainability of the healthcare system.
Focus on supply chains
The vast array of personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies and medications1 that were in critically short supply in the first COVID-19 wave of the pandemic, brought to light the need for agility and robust supply chains. Even once requisitioning of PPE was centralised, supplies were still often unreliable and inadequate. Hospitals often had to share resources, with oxygen transferred between hospitals when demand exceeded supply.1
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