NHS Forth Valley Wins Major IT Awards

NHS Forth Valley has been recognised for its innovative use of IT at two major award ceremonies. 

The NHS Forth Valley IT team beat the competition at the Health Service Journal Efficiency Awards, to win the 'Efficiency in Information Technology' Award for their use of electronic ward maps to manage patient flow in Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

More than 100 NHS organisations and their partners from across the UK were shortlisted for a range of awards at this national event and NHS Forth Valley was the only organisation in Scotland to achieve a prestigious award.

The team's project - which was described by judges as "highly transferrable" - involved replacing maintained whiteboard maps with electronic ward maps in acute and community wards. The maps enable patient flow staff to access to data for all wards from a central location. Processes were also standardised and nurse interruptions reduced.

This award follows two other accolades at the recent NHS Scotland e-health Awards which aim to recognise and share the achievements of IT teams in Scottish NHS boards.  

NHS Forth Valley won the first prize for the 'Use of Innovative IT for PatientCare' for a pharmacy project which involves sharing medicines information across community and acute care. The Board's IT team also received first runner-up prize for the 'Best IT Service Delivery Team' for the team work and project management involved in the migration of a wide range of acute and mental health services to the new Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert.

NHS Forth Valley's Chief Executive Professor Fiona MacKenzie said: "This is a fantastic achievement and I'm delighted that our staff have been recognised for their hard work, commitment and innovative use of IT to further improve patient care across Forth Valley."