The SEND team (left to right) Timothy Bonnici, Peter Watkinson, Soubera Rymell and Samuel Wilson
A BRC-supported project to replace bedside paper charts with tablet computers at Oxfordshire hospitals was showcased at an event about innovation in healthcare.
The System for Electronic Notification and Documentation (SEND) was demonstrated to visitors at the “Innovation in the NHS” event at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford on Monday November 30.
It was first event of its kind by The Innovation Forum, a student-led initiative that seeks to build bridges between academia, industry and policy makers across nine countries.
The SEND project is a collaboration between Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford and is funded by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.
Hospital staff input adult patients’ vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure into the tablet computer which immediately provides advice on how to manage the patient’s care and clearly displays any deterioration in their condition.
It also means information about patients can be shared around the Trust, including on desktop computers, saving crucial time that was previously spent looking for and transporting paper charts.
The system – which is being rolled out across Trust hospitals – has been developed to not only save time but also improve safety by providing instant and accurate information about a patient’s condition.
The forum included talks by Trust Chief Executive Officer Dr Bruno L Holthof and Dr Nick Scott-Ram, Director of Commercial Development at Oxford Academic Health Science Network (AHSN).
The BRC was among the sponsors of the event, which also included the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and the AHSN.
