"It's more significant than any new drug or new clinical kit."

For the past three years we have been working on a piece of digital kit for our ambulance crews which will really help us to improve the care we give to you.

With a trial taking place in autumn 2020 in Blackpool, our clinical teams there were the first to move from paper based patient record forms to an electronic patient record.

Dr Chris Grant, Medical Director at NWAS has led the project for the past year.

“It’s more significant to us than any new drug or new clinical kit. It will genuinely transform how we deliver, monitor and improve clinical care.”

Going electronic means crews will be able to view patient records to help them make clinical decisions. They can input patient information to the device which will talk to the receiving location during the journey. Patients’ data is encrypted meaning it is completely safe and secure.

In time, this will enable us to connect with the wider health system digitally – something we haven’t had before - giving us a more intelligent picture of healthcare needs.

Once we have put this system through copious tests, we will make sure the rest of crews in the North West are using these by next year.

It’s been some years in development – but Dr Grant explains that it is a bespoke system built and tailored specifically to the complex needs of one of the biggest ambulance trusts in the country.

“We did not want to buy an off the shelf solution, because that simply would not have worked.

“It is one of the biggest innovations to the way we work that NWAS has ever undertaken, so there are bound to be some teething problems.

“But we are 90% there with it, and look forward to sharing more details with our partners as it is road tested thoroughly.”