Information Management and Technology

The IM&T team is responsible for all of the Trust's clinical, administrative and information systems along with the extensive infrastructure on which the system runs, as well as the hospital Switchboard and the Health Records department.

The Trust has a reputation as one of the most progressive in the country in the way it continues to extend the Trust's systems for the benefit of patients, staff and partners across the health community.

The hospital has a robust and highly integrated system so the electronic patient record is available to clinicians throughout the patient's treatment and the IM&T department supports over 2,000 PCs and laptops, many operating wirelessly.

Radiology and pathology tests are ordered and reported electronically, GP referrals are sent and received electronically, and diagnostic results are also viewable in GP surgeries.

Of particular note, some of the Trust's IM&T achievements include:-

• Being selected by Connecting for Health as the first Trust in the North West to go live with Picture Archiving Communications System (PACS), delivering a solution that has dramatically reduced X-ray turnaround times, allowing doctors to see results much sooner
• Speech recognition system being introduced whereby Radiologists dictate reports on-line for immediate translation into the electronic patient record, further reducing turnaround times
• A Facility implemented to issue Discharge Summaries at point of discharge from hospital so that GPs and patients have a record of their visit to facilitate their ongoing treatment
• Choose & Book solutions in place that allow patients to book hospital outpatient appointments directly from their GP surgery, through a national help-line or via the Internet
• Information substantially enhanced to ensure clinicians and managers are able to monitor performance in line with the government's 18-week referral-to-treatment target
• Community Midwives equipped with mobile computing solutions to allow them to securely access and input patient information without having to come into the hospital
• Members of the department invited to speak at national and regional events on the Trust's use of technology to achieve real benefits for its patients and staff