NHS Direct Wales launch new website
NHS Direct Wales have launched a new website, after research indicated that two-thirds of the country use the internet for health information. The new website, www.nhsdirect.wales.nhs.uk, was launched last Thursday to give patients and public more information to make decisions about their own health and care. It was developed by the information service in partnership […]
News
Wales to digitise ambulance radio network
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust is to receive £55m from the Welsh Assembly government to invest in the O2 Airwave communication system and upgrade their control rooms. O2 Airwave is a secure digital radio network dedicated for the exclusive use of the UK’s emergency and public safety services. Designed to carry voice and data […]
News
Two-thirds in Wales access health information online
A survey commissioned by Informing Healthcare, the Welsh healthcare IT programme, has revealed that almost two-thirds of people in Wales source health information online. Informing Healthcare commissioned Pricewaterhouse Coopers International Survey Unit to research the preferred method for adults in Wales to source health information, with 1002 people participating in the telephone survey between March […]
News
NHS Wales signs software deal with Microsoft
NHS Wales has signed a corporate licensing enterprise agreement with Microsoft covering the firm’s latest desktop and mobile computing software. The three year deal is estimated to provide savings of £6.1 million compared to trusts locally negotiating software licensing deals. The deal follows the £500m three year corporate licensing deal Microsoft signed with the English […]
News
Welsh telemedicine in great shape, says First Minister
Welsh First Minister Rhodri Morgan, has lent his support to the use of telemedicine within the country, saying that it has had great benefits for NHS Wales. Speaking ahead of last week’s seventh summit of the British Irish Council on the Isle of Man, which focused on the benefits of telemedicine, Morgan said: "Wales has […]
News
Ex-NHSIA chief comes home again to Wales
Gwyn Thomas, former chief executive of the now-defunct NHS Information Authority, is the new Director of the NHS Wales Informing Healthcare Programme. The general election means that Dr Thomas is not available for interview but he said in the official announcement from the National Public Health Service for Wales: “I look forward to working with […]
News
Welsh NHS IT strategy launched, again
In the week that the NHS in England awarded a tranche of major IT contracts, worth £2.7 billion, Welsh Assembly Health Minister Jane Hutt has once again officially launched the IT strategy for the Welsh NHS, the difference being this time that £88m of dedicated funding has been committed over the next three years. The ‘Informing […]
News
CHI praises NHS Direct
The Commission for Health Improvement (CHI) has given a positive assessment of the 24 hour health information and advice line, NHS Direct, saying that it is a successful service valued by the public and has staff that are proud to work for it. CHI’s sector report on the service covers 20 out of the […]
News
NHS Wales Launches Online Jobs Service
The NHS in Wales has launched a jobs service which brings health service vacancies together on a single web site. The site allows users to search for jobs by category, organisation, salary, hours, keywords and geographical area in Wales. It is open to existing NHS staff who want to change jobs and to the public. […]
News
All-Wales Approach Proposed for Electronic Records
The long-awaited strategy for health information in Wales proposes a corporate, all-Wales approach to the development of electronic records and other information services. “Informing Healthcare” the consultative strategy paper published by the Welsh Assembly Government, says, “The known weaknesses of ‘centralisation’ will be overcome by a clear commitment that corporate resources are accountable directly to […]
News