Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership (GMHSC Partnership) is paving the way for use of the latest technology to support the region’s devolved vision for delivering integrated health and care services through work with Manchester tech specialists Shaping Cloud.
The IT company, which has already supported the tech ambitions of leading northern NHS trusts Salford Royal and Pennine Acute, is reviewing the technology being used across 20 NHS and local government organisations involved in the GMHSC Partnership, the body overseeing the region’s devolution plans and taking charge of the £6bn health and social care budget as well as a £450m transformation fund.
As part of its review, Shaping Cloud will identify where the same technology might be in use across the region and find ways to introduce more cost-effective practices to reduce waste and duplication, driving down costs and saving money, whilst cutting the need for public sector teams to manage outdated equipment.
It will also look at developing a plan to see how the region can make greater use of cloud tech which will provide health and social care staff with access to more apps to help improve delivery of frontline care.
According to Stephen Dobson, GMHSC Partnership interim chief digital officer: “Cloud is coming whether we like it or not as the benefits it can deliver are considerable. However, understanding what technology is in use across the public sector, should mean that the review will pay for itself through consolidation and simplification.
“It will also set us up to support Mayor Andy Burnham’s vision of Manchester as the UK’s leading digital city and deliver ‘the greatest and fastest possible improvement to the health and wellbeing for the 2.8m people of Greater Manchester’.
“My objective is to get to the future faster and deliver more citizen centric services that an increasingly digitally literate population is now demanding. We also want to better protect the region’s citizens and patients in terms of their personal data and confidentiality and against any future security threats or attacks. This project will enable us to do just that.”
Shaping Cloud’s review which is scheduled for completion in spring 2019, sits alongside activity that sees Manchester improving how it shares health and care information following its successful bid for £7.5m funding through the NHS’ Local Health and Care Record Exemplar scheme.
“The cloud will provide us with the ability to access what we need from wherever we are,” said Dobson. “This will improve the flexibility of our workforce and help ensure the correct information is available when it’s needed. It’s vital that we change how we use technology across our services, we must deliver on this, for the benefit of patients and our health and care workforce.
“Our partnership with Shaping Cloud will support us in achieving this and improve how we share data between organisations and access information. They really understand the challenges of delivering at scale and they have a genuine passion for service delivery.”
Chosen for its experience in public sector IT, hybrid cloud and digital transformation, Manchester-based Shaping Cloud has already worked with some of the region’s healthcare organisations and local authorities.
Shaping Cloud Founder and CEO, Carlos Oliveira, said: “Being selected as the preferred supplier to GMHSC Partnership is testimony to what we can and shall deliver. We are privileged to work in an industry where our products and services have the power to improve people’s lives.
“Our work with the partnership will create a blueprint for a modern IT infrastructure at an organisational, local and regional level. Using the latest technologies, it will allow organisations to collaborate more effectively and be an enabler for the delivery of better services to the people of Greater Manchester.
“We’re fully behind Greater Manchester’s mission to improve the health and wellbeing of every citizen in the region. It’s about people achieving their potential and amplifying Greater Manchester’s position as a world-class city. It’s a big responsibility and one we’re happy to help with.”
