E-blood system could save NHS £40m a year

The UK’s blood transfusion service is set to pilot a number of IT-led projects to improve supplies to hospitals, in a move that could cut operating costs by as much as £40m while improving patient care.

The Department of Health (DoH) has just published its review of the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) service, which recommends the establishment of pilot schemes, beginning in 2012, to explore ways to improve the service.

At least one of those pilots is likely to build on the groundbreaking work at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, which has developed its own “electronic blood transfusion service”, using a combination of 2D barcodes, wireless connectivity and handheld computers to improve the quality of patient care.

The system uses barcodes to link patients with blood products, with sensors and scanners deployed to track the supply of blood products between hospital laboratories and wards, reducing error and improving transfusion safety.

According to figures from the DoH, the managed service contract for the electronic blood transfusion service costs John Radcliffe £350k per year, but has achieved cost savings of £400k per year by reducing the amount of blood needed, and a further £500k through the reduced nursing time associated with handling the blood.

The DoH concluded that while the system may not be appropriate for every NHS Trust, it should be regarded as an exemplar of good practice.

NHSBT is already committed to deploying an online ordering service system to hospitals in this financial year, but plans to establish new pilot schemes in the coming year to explore the potential for shared stock management and automatic replenishment systems, along with integrated transfusion laboratories. A national integrated blood stock system could save £40m a year, it estimates.

“We are working in partnership with trusts to identify ways we can better improve the management of blood and blood products within hospitals – so that we make best use of the voluntary donations from our 1.4 million donors,” said Lynda Hamlyn, chief executive of NHSBT.

“We plan to pilot a number of different models in the coming year and are confident we can improve performance and deliver further efficiencies to reinvest in frontline patient care.”

The John Radcliffe electronic blood transfusion service won the award for Public Sector Project of the Year 2009 at the UK IT Industry Awards hosted jointly by Computing and the BCS.