Patient info for ambulance clinicians on the move

The London Ambulance Service has begun a pilot to enable its clinicians to securely access Summary Care Record data on an iPad, without the need for a smartcard or N3.

Using the new NHS Identity Service to authenticate to the system will hopefully reduce the time the medic needs to spend with each patient and also reduce A&E admissions.

Developed by NHS Digital, the pilot will use Camden Ambulance Station as an initial user base and give 60 medics access to patients’ SCRs and additional information securely on their iPads. This includes vital information about a patient’s medical history such as details of long-term conditions, significant medical history, ongoing prescriptions, known allergies and any other specific needs.

Mike Walker, programme head responsible for NHS Identity and Mobile SCRa, said: "This mobile solution has been implemented very quickly in a real-world environment, providing meaningful insight that will inform future direction. I am extremely proud of the team. They have worked hard to get this capability built, enabled and deployed. We hope to see that this brings real benefits to the working day of medics and A&E staff and, most importantly, to patients.”

Stuart Crichton, Chief Clinical Information Officer at London Ambulance Service said: “This trial is an exciting opportunity to use technology to improve our patient care. By being able to securely access patient information on a tablet device at the patient’s side, our clinicians will have more information at their fingertips, enabling them to provide better and more informed care. This trial is at the forefront of our use of pioneering technology to bring about real change to the care we provide and we hope to be able to roll this system out across the capital.”

The pilot will last 16 weeks which will provide project teams with vital information and feedback about the products. Following the pilot, the aim is to roll out the initiative across the capital so it’s available for all frontline London Ambulance Service clinicians.