Nursing Technology Fund (NTF)
In 2012, the Department of Health announced the establishment of a Nursing Technology Fund (NTF). The purpose of the NTF is to allow providers of nursing services to make better use of digital technology that supports nurses, midwives and health visitors deliver safer, more effective and more efficient care.
The funding was split into two rounds, with the first allocating
£30M to be spent in the financial year 2013/2014.
The NTF received 226 applications in the first round of funding,
and Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were one of
74 Trusts successful in the bid for funding. The Trust was
awarded £88,000 by the NTF to assist in carrying out the Electronic
Pre-Operative Assessment Project.
The project aim is to implement a pre-operative assessment IT
system at the Trust, that will ensure the appropriate risk
assessment is completed digitally, and is readily accessible to all
clinical staff involved.
The system creates an electronic history of each patient,
preventing duplication of information and enables the nursing staff
to carry out an extensive and thorough assessment in a more
efficient manner than that undertaken on paper.
As the assessment is more efficient, the patient is given
greater opportunity to ask questions, gain information and allay
fears regarding their forthcoming surgery.
The Trust initiated the project in March 2014 and are aiming to
fully deploy the electronic pre-operative assessment system by
October 2014.