Plymouth chosen as Demonstrator Site of Excellence

Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust has been chosen as one of six ‘demonstrator sites of excellence’ for the national roll out of a new set of standards for the NHS.

The Department of Health chose the six acute trusts to be the first to implement new GS1 and PEPPOL standards which are aimed at improving patient care and safety as well as significant efficiencies and cost savings.

The trust will now receive a sixth share of a £12 million pot of Government funding to demonstrate the benefits in rolling out GS1 and PEPPOL standards – which are mandatory for every healthcare provider. We will be used as an exemplar of best practice that all NHS Trusts in England can learn from.

Ann James, Chief Executive of Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as one of only six demonstrator sites to be at the forefront of rolling out these internationally recognised standards. Our selection comes as a result of a lot of hard work and commitment to this initiative from our staff. We look forward to the challenges and improvements this will bring.”

The idea of the standards is to develop a common language and ways of doing things across the NHS. London-based GS1 is working with Trusts on implementation which can include software, including barcoded wristbands for patient. GS1 standards are already used successfully in the retail and food sectors and have led to remarkable improvements in quality and efficiency in these sectors.

It is also intended to work with industry to make it easier to do business with the NHS.

Andy McMinn: “For us this is about standards not systems - about making better and more consistent use of what we have rather than pushing a big technology programme. GS1 standards uniquely identify every patient, every product and every place and share this information across the organisation which will improve patient safety whilst saving possible millions of pounds.

“PEPPOL standards will enable touchless trade with our suppliers and more efficient and timely business processes again supporting better patient care and best use of financial resources. The competition to become a NHS demonstrator site was fierce and the trust has since learnt that what stood out in our application was the strong sense of working together and a broad organisational commitment to implementation of the standards and an understanding of how this will improve the quality of care that we provide to our patients.”

Glen Hodgson, Head of Healthcare at GS1 UK, said: “I am delighted to learn of Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust’s success in achieving funding as a GS1 demonstrator site. Plymouth has championed the use of our standards for many years and is an acknowledged leader in implementing GS1 standards to improve patient safety, regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.”

The Department of Health has committed a centralised fund of £12m, which will be released in four phases over the two years.

The other demonstrator sites are:

• Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
• North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust
• Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
• Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust