Surgeon returns to transform hospital system

A former heart surgeon has returned to Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust (NLaG) to transform the way information systems in the hospitals work.

Dr Steven Griffin has been appointed as the trust’s first digital and informatics associate medical director. He has returned to the NHS after retiring four years ago and going to work in Dubai where he worked as a heart surgeon and deputy medical director.

He said like many hospitals across the country, NLaG was using a number of computer systems for such things as patient management and accounting.

He said the aim was to draw together all of these different systems to ensure that information was held in one place.

The first area he is hoping to look at will be electronic prescribing as this will have immediate benefits for patients, especially those who have difficulty trying to understand their doctor’s handwriting. It will also ensure patients receive the correct medication, check whether they are allergic to treatment and dosages and see whether it will interact with any of the other medication they are on.

Griffin, however, makes it clear that the shift to paperless will not happen overnight as it requires comprehensive engagement with multiple departments, teams and individuals.

Griffin said: “The way they worked [in Dubai] was very different as they were totally paperless. Everything was computerised and there were no bits of paper floating around at all. I saw firsthand how beneficial this is for patient care.

“When I returned to the UK earlier this year I decided I wanted to put what I had learned into practice and help make a difference to patient care here and where better than at NLaG. I loved my time working here and was always made to feel so welcome.

“My focus will be to work towards paperless hospitals here. The long-term goal is to roll out electronic referrals, electronic notes and electronic prescribing. It would see an end to paper requests going round the hospital.”