The government has provided funding to 13 trusts across England
Credit: Wolfram Kastl/DPA/PA Images
The government has selected 13 NHS trusts across England to receive up to £2m each this year to support the rollout of electronic prescribing systems.
The trusts – who were identified as having made little progress in deploying e-prescribing platforms and tools – were chosen by the Department of Health and Social Care because they each “provide a mixture of acute, mental health and community services”.
The government said that using e-prescriptions will allow trusts to assemble comprehensive electronic patient records and minimise duplication of data, as well as offering patients quicker access to medicines. The tech system will also “reduce potentially deadly medication errors by up to 50% when compared with the old paper systems”, it added.
DHSC will provide funding of £78m in the next few years to support the rollout of e-prescriptions. Some £16m has been awarded for the 2018/19 year to the following trusts:
- University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust – £2.19m
- Barts Health NHS Trust – £1.7m
- East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust – £1.7m
- Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust – £1.62m
- Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust – £1.6m
- East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust – £1.45m
- Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust – £1.17m
- Bolton NHS Foundation – £1.02m
- Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust – £940,000
- Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust – £820,000
- The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust – £750,000
- East London NHS Foundation Trust – £740,000
- Humber NHS Foundation Trust – £300,000
The government’s goal is for all NHS trusts across England and Wales to implement e-prescribing systems by 2021.
Health minister Stephen Hammond said: “As part of the long-term plan for the NHS, we not only want to harness technology to make it one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world, but crucially to improve patient care. The funding provided for these trusts will help to drive these changes to the patient experience, but will also aid our hard-working and dedicated staff. The introduction of electronic prescribing is not only known to reduce medication errors, but also frees up time for staff by moving away from archaic paper-based systems.”
