A system which has cut cardiac arrests by more than two thirds in the busiest area of the Victoria Hospital has been praised.
NHS Fife has won the digital health award after frontline doctors and nurses have delivered rapid improvements in patient safety by harnessing an early warning technology known as Patientrack.
The health board reduced cardiac arrests by more than two thirds in the busiest area of its only acute hospital.
Among the immediate high impact findings first revealed by NHS Fife in March, it has also emerged that frontline staff have observed some of the most significant and immediate changes in clinical practice ever seen.
This is because the project has, for the first time, allowed staff to identify patients at risk of deterioration across the hospital and intervene early.
Judges at the Holyrood Connect ICT awards have recognised the results in improved care and named NHS Fife as winner of the 2016 award for digital health, beating several organisations to the prize.
In addition the health board has also become a finalist in the UK’s EHI awards 2016 for the best use of IT to improve patient safety.
Donald Kennedy, the managing director at Patientrack, said: “NHS Fife has delivered remarkable results for patient care in a matter of months with Patientrack, a trend which is continuing.
“It is fantastic to see the hard work of clinical and eHealth teams in the health board recognised for a project which is helping staff to reduce avoidable harm and deliver better outcomes for patients.”
Dr Gavin Simpson, consultant critical care and anaesthetics and project lead at NHS Fife, added: “The introduction of Patientrack has meant that, for the first time, doctors and nurses can instantly see the sickest patients in the hospital in real-time, and are automatically alerted to intervene.
“Nurses no longer need to manually phone for doctors to attend deteriorating or vulnerable patients, freeing time for other important clinical tasks.
“Patients can be better prioritised, with observations captured more accurately and completely.”
The Holyrood Connect ICT award is the latest recognition of the project at NHS Fife.
The work to deliver better care and prevent avoidable harm has attracted the attention of other health boards in Scotland.
Patientrack works by ensuring observation and assessment protocols are carried out correctly and consistently, and by automatically calculating early warning scores and alerting clinicians when interventions are needed.
