US-based GE Healthcare and the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) have entered into a 10-year partnership agreement to improve radiology services and improve patient care.
The deal will include Radiology Managed Service (RMS) covering 120 pieces of radiography equipment, a command centre and an oncology cockpit that will employ artificial intelligence to improve cancer detection.
Under the RMS deal, GE Healthcare will oversee the installation and maintenance of radiological equipment such as MR, CT, ultrasound, and more.
Through the partnership, supporting staff will have access to new technology to modernise the radiology services provided at Basingstoke & North Hampshire Hospital and the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.
The cockpit will measure the diagnostic demand and capacity constraints, supporting staff to identify potential delays in the cancer pathway, simplify patient workflow, reduce waste, and improve the speed of diagnosis.
The command centre will use analytics to give a real-time system and patient overview, in areas such as radiology, outpatient and inpatient care.
Hospitals using command centre solutions around the world have shown results like the reduced length of patient stay, increased efficiency, and improved staff satisfaction.
GE Healthcare Northern Europe general manager Simon McGuire said: “As we recover from the pandemic, the next few years will be challenging for everyone in the NHS, but HHFT has chosen to invest in a long-term, innovative approach to optimising capacity and empowering its outstanding radiology teams.
“We’ll be with them every step of the way and are thrilled to be working with the Trust.”
The recent deal will expand and improve the already existing partnership between GE and HHFT. GE Healthcare provided ventilators and monitoring support to expand Emergency Department capacity in Hampshire at the height of the Covid-19 surge.
