£1m boost for patient care

COMMUNITY health staff are to receive £1 million to give them faster access to records and improve care.

The money has been awarded to Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust - which covers Oldham - from the Nursing Technology Fund. Seventy five trusts have received a share of the £30 million fund for IT equipment for nurses, midwives and care staff.

The money will be used by Pennine Care to support mobile and community-based staff. Better mobile devices will allow easy access to patient information and reduce the need for paperwork.

Barbara Hoyle, director of ICT at Pennine Care, said: “Approximately 75 per cent of our workforce provides care in a community setting. Staff will be able to update records and put up-to-date information at the fingertips of care teams.”

The money will allow mobile devices to be handed out to around 1,000 community-based staff.