> Case Studies

This is a well known London based NHS Trust - a grouping of two leading teaching hospitals

The trust covered two key teaching hospitals and were spending millions on supplies each year with a range of over 7000 medical supply items. This led to confusion and wasteful ordering as there were multiple versions of things such as rubber gloves, all from different manufacturers.

Unsurprisingly costs were escalating out of control

The executive leadership team needed to control the cost, scale and scope of the supply infrastructure

On line ward based ordering was needed, only stocking approved items that had been purchased at bulk rates.

It was necessary to build a prototype ordering system to release development funds for a longer term project - in other words a proof of concept

A technology assessment was carried out to determine the most suitable infrastructure for the project. An  architectural design of the system was produced and then a prototype system built that demonstrated ward to supplier orders using open standards for easier integration with supplier systems

Trust wide enthusiasm for new system seen as innovative and easy to use. Calculations indicated that the cost saving would be significant within first year alone.

Investment was secured for system redevelopment and roll out

15 days over 2 months