NHSBT begins partnership to digitally manage blood collection

NHS Blood and Transplant has signed a deal with BT to provide a technology and communications solution for England’s NHS blood donor network.

NHSBT currently has 50 mobile teams in England that collect blood donations in local communities as well at 23 fixed donation centres. As part of the collaboration, BT will be connecting NHSBT’s fixed and mobile sites using BT’s EE 4G network, allowing teams to digitally manage blood donor and blood collection information when the mobile teams travel to different locations across the country as well as in the fixed blood donation sites.

With the test phase rollout starting in the coming months, BT will provide an end-to-end service which includes devices that can be managed remotely over BT’s EE 4G network. As a result, NHS staff will use the devices to record and update patient details, as well as track information on blood donation bookings and blood donor records.

The devices will be provided and managed by BT and include rugged hand-held scanners to identify and capture data on the donor and the blood donation, welcome device tablets to log information about the donors booking and laptops for data management. In addition, there will be bespoke cabinets designed to aid and improve accessibility while on location.

David Suttie, accountable executive at NHSBT, said: “There will be many benefits to the new technology solution. It will allow us to collect IT data more effectively, help donors move through the process quicker and reduce paperwork. This will be a positive outcome for our blood donation sessions.”

Danny Longbottom, director of Local Government and  Health at BT, added: “The work of NHS Blood and Transplant is integral to the NHS. We’re delighted to be able to further the work we do with the NHS and help transform the blood donation service by providing faster connectivity and support.”