A new multi-million pound framework that will help the NHS ‘purge the pager’ provides trusts with a means to quickly and easily procure Alcidion’s Smartpage messaging system.
NHSX has awarded smart health informatics provider Alcidion a place on the Clinical Communications Procurement Framework, a new procurement vehicle intended to help the NHS phase out pagers by the end of next year.
The £3 million framework will allow trusts to procure Alcidion’s Smartpage product without the need for formal tendering.
Smartpage, which integrates directly with trusts’ existing systems – including electronic patient records and patient administration systems – provides healthcare professionals with a secure, encrypted messaging and task management solution.
The technology allows instant two-way messaging between busy professionals providing them with read receipts and guaranteed delivery between all care team members, as well as the ability to share images and assign tasks. Healthcare providers using the system are also given organisation wide oversight in real time.
Lynette Ousby (pictured right), UK general manager for Alcidion, said: “NHSX has shown a commitment through this framework to accelerate the spread of modern technologies in the health service that can help healthcare professionals communicate effectively during the busiest of times.
“The inclusion of Smartpage on this framework is an important independent validation for Alcidion’s Smartpage product. We look forward to helping trusts modernise their communications tools through a framework in a way that is affordable and straightforward.”
The new framework follows an order from health and social care secretary Matt Hancock for the removal of pagers from the NHS for non-emergency communications by the end of 2021. Speaking at the time in 2019, he said: “Every day, our wonderful NHS staff work incredibly hard in what can be challenging and high-pressured environments. The last thing they need are the frustrations of having to deal with outdated technology – they deserve the very best equipment to help them do their jobs.”
Alcidion is known widely in the UK for its Patientrack early warning and e-observations system, which has helped NHS hospitals to tackle deadly conditions, enhance patient safety and transform clinical practice.
Smartpage is integrated with other Alcidion products, including Patientrack, providing hospitals with a hard-alerting capability that flags and escalates deteriorating patients to allow professionals to intervene early.
The company will formally launch the Miya Precision smart clinical asset into the UK in 2020 which is also integrated with Smartpage.
Alcidion Group managing director, Kate Quirke (left), said: “The NHS remains our largest partner anywhere in the world when it comes to using technology to advance patient safety and to alleviate pressure on frontline staff. This latest framework 
placement reaffirms our ongoing commitment to helping hospitals in the UK achieve their digital health aspirations.”
