An NHS success story – what’s to learn from it?

By Tony Collins

IM&T at Trafford General Hospital makes visits to hospital safer for patients and gives managers the information they need to monitor the work of clinicians. Even doctors like the advanced technological environment and come up with ideas for improvements. So what lessons can be learnt? Here are four:

–           Be in control of your IT suppliers. Too often in the public sector it’s the other way around

–           Don’t buy from suppliers that seem excessively secretive and talk much about their proprietary information – which may include your data. Know their systems well enough to produce the reports you want, when you want them and in the format you want, rather than wait for your information to be given to you when the suppliers want to give it, and in their format.

–           Don’t impose change. Have the push come from the business users [in Trafford’s case clinicians] who understand what technology can do for them.

–           Keep IT in the background – not centre stage.