This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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NHS and the better use of IT
19/08/2003
A £1.1 million national project to encourage better use
of Information Technology in NHS primary care was launched
today.
'IT Mentoring', first piloted in Lanarkshire last
year, resulted in significant improvements in the use of IT
by GPs, practice staff and community nurses.
It also has benefits for patients, with better recording
of patient information and improved management of chronic
illness through disease registers.
Under the scheme, which is now being extended throughout
Scotland, primary care staff, as well as IT professionals,
will be trained as 'mentors' and travel round GP surgeries
giving one to one IT support to staff.
Viewing mentoring in action at a Lanarkshire GP surgery
today, Deputy Health Minister Tom McCabe said:
"Better use of IT is vital if we want to ensure that our
local healthcare systems are as efficient and effective as
possible.
"This pilot in Lanarkshire proved that better IT skills
not only improve the skills and confidence of staff but can
also have benefits for patients.
"For example, better recording of patient information
can mean that patients with chronic diseases such as asthma
or diabetes are more likely to be recalled for check-ups or
non-urgent treatment. It will also mean better sharing of
patient information between local health services and
hospitals or clinics, avoiding the need for patients to
give the same information to different parts of the
NHS.
"Better record keeping on diseases will also mean that
we will be more able to track the incidence and prevalence
of certain diseases, which will add to our understanding of
health trends across Scotland.
"Feedback from the Lanarkshire pilot was very positive.
It resulted in more consistent recording of patient
information, better access to IT and better understanding
of the importance of IT among GPs and other practice
staff.
"Improving quality in General Practice is at the heart
of the new GP contract and this approach is a positive way
of supporting GPs and their staff to deliver this.
"That is why I am pleased to announce today that we
investing £1.1 million to extend the scheme and introduce
IT mentors across Scotland.
"This funding, in addition to the £25 million for better
IT equipment and training now available for investment
through the new GP contract, will help to ensure that we
continue to make best use of new technology in order to
deliver modern health services for patients and that
training is designed to fit individual practice needs.
"We hope the scheme will be fully rolled out across
Scotland by the end of this year."
In June 2003 GPs across the UK voted to accept the
introduction of a new GP contract negotiated between the
General Practitioners Council (GPC) and the NHS
Confederation on behalf of the four Health Departments
across the UK.
The arrangements for Scotland included investment of an
additional £25 million over three years to upgrade IT
equipment and provide more IT training in primary care.
In addition to the £1.1 million for mentoring, a
separate pre-new contract programme of upgrading all
'legacy' Scottish GP practice IT systems to a common
technical base standard is underway.