Double health award win for information system

An information sharing service developed by two Lancashire organisations has won a brace of awards.

They were among seven winners at the North West Skills Development Network’s Informatics Awards, part of the ‘Connect 2017’ conference to showcase pioneering work in digital health.

The Information Sharing Gateway team at the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay won the Innovation Award.

The Gateway a system which allows different organisations to meet governance standards when sharing information. It was created to support the Lancashire Person Record Exchange System, or LPRES, a programme which won the Collaboration Award.

The Information Sharing Gateway is now being used by more than 1,100 organisations all over the country.

Kevin Whittaker, Information Sharing Gateway programme manager  said: “The award win is a real coup for the team and we are thrilled to have won it. People rely on the efficient and safe sharing of their data to ensure that professionals have access to the information they need whenever and wherever they access services.”

The Lancashire Person Record Exchange, or LPRES, enables the exchange of clinical and social care information to and from front line clinical and social care professionals without the need to build a separate database. It connects more than 300 GP practices, four major hospital trusts, a mental health trust, Lancashire County Council, two upper tier authorities and some private providers.

Dr Nicholas Wood, Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist and Chief Clinical Information Officer at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals, said: “All information published on LPRES will also be available to staff with appropriate securities in a ‘shared record viewer’.

“This means that clinicians can access all necessary information at the point of care including the GP detailed care summary, end of life care plans, hospital discharge summaries and hospital clinic letters. “In the future there will be a citizen/patient platform allowing patients to access their health care records, coordinate appointments, interact with their clinicians and access health or disease specific applications that link with the electronic patient record.”