BigHand wins Princess Alexandra contract

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust has signed a contract with BigHand for a trust-wide implementation of its digital dictation software.

The Harlow trust says the technology is being rolled across all directorates and will be used by more than 600 users when it is fully implemented.

Users will be able to record information into a digital recording device such as a hand-held recorder or mobile phone, and then send an encrypted sound file to available secretarial support.

Darren Leech, director for service improvement at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust, told E-Health Insider: “Implementing digital dictation will allow the trust to cut out time spent on administrative duties. It means that we can invest this time back into dealing with our patients.”

The trust used a framework agreement initially put in place by the Yorkshire and Humber Commercial Procurement Collaborative last summer, which is now being used by other NHS procurement hubs around the country.

The seven suppliers that signed the four year framework agreement are now competing to win contracts with the 40% of the NHS which the framework covers.

James Kippenberger, UK sales director at BigHand said: “Five contracts have been signed through the framework and BigHand is the only digital dictation supplier to have had any sales through the framework so far.

"The framework has been more beneficial to NHS trusts, allowing them to bypass lengthy and costly RFI [Request for Information] tenders.”

Other trusts that have invested in BigHand technology include Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust.

Link: BigHand