Innovation: Medic Bleep Last call for the pager One of Eastern AHSN’s key partners, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, secured headlines in February when Health Secretary Matt Hancock lauded its initiative to replace ‘archaic’ hospital pagers In announcing that the NHS should phase out non-emergency pagers by the end of 2021, Mr Hancock cited the Trust’s Medic Bleep project as a digital alternative for other trusts to follow. Created by Medic Creations, the Medic Bleep app allows hospital and community staff to communicate in real time, sharing vital information and updates about patients accurately and securely. Although it is not intended to replace face-to-face communication, the new technology is considered far more efficient than the pager system which is used in most hospitals. In a pilot project at the trust’s West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, the app saved junior doctors an average 48 minutes per shift and nurses 21 minutes, freeing up more time for staff to care for patients. The trust formally launched Medic Bleep on 25 June, 2019, rolling it out across its West Suffolk Hospital site. Eastern AHSN is supporting the trust in evaluating the project and is due to report its findings later this year. We look forward to sharing their experiences and the results of that evaluation, which we have commissioned from Health Enterprise East, in our Impact Review 2019/20. Piers Ricketts, Chief Executive of Eastern AHSN, said: “Our role is to help find new ways to improve the care and performance of healthcare in our region, and we are delighted that Medic Bleep is so far proving such a success.” The trust was also recognised in the national Health Service Journal Awards for ‘Using Technology to Improve Efficiency’. Although it was not selected as the overall winner, the team was recognised and celebrated for its outstanding contribution to healthcare. Innovation: Medic Bleep One of Eastern AHSN’s key partners, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, secured headlines in February when Health Secretary Matt Hancock lauded its initiative to replace ‘archaic’ hospital pagers In announcing that the NHS should phase out non-emergency pagers by the end of 2021, Mr Hancock cited the Trust’s Medic Bleep project as a digital alternative for other trusts to follow. Created by Medic Creations, the Medic Bleep app allows hospital and community staff to communicate in real time, sharing vital information and updates about patients accurately and securely. Although it is not intended to replace face-to-face communication, the new technology is considered far more efficient than the pager system which is used in most hospitals. In a pilot project at the trust’s West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds, the app saved junior doctors an average 48 minutes per shift and nurses 21 minutes, freeing up more time for staff to care for patients. The trust formally launched Medic Bleep on 25 June, 2019, rolling it out across its West Suffolk Hospital site. Eastern AHSN is supporting the trust in evaluating the project and is due to report its findings later this year. We look forward to sharing their experiences and the results of that evaluation, which we have commissioned from Health Enterprise East, in our Impact Review 2019/20. Piers Ricketts, Chief Executive of Eastern AHSN, said: “Our role is to help find new ways to improve the care and performance of healthcare in our region, and we are delighted that Medic Bleep is so far proving such a success.” The trust was also recognised in the national Health Service Journal Awards for ‘Using Technology to Improve Efficiency’. Although it was not selected as the overall winner, the team was recognised and celebrated for its outstanding contribution to healthcare. Last call for the pager One of Eastern AHSN’s key partners, West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, secured headlines in February when Health Secretary Matt Hancock lauded its initiative to replace ‘archaic’ hospital pagers