Guest Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 Patients booking hospital appoints at a date and time to suit them moved a step closer today with the awarding of the NHS electronic booking system contract.The system will take away the uncertainty and anxiety of waiting, sometimes weeks, to be sent an appointment in the post which may not be suitable for the patient.The £64.5m five-year contract has been awarded to SchlumbergerSema, a leading supplier of IT systems to the public sector. The company has carried out other large health related IT projects in Sweden and France.New software will be made available to more than 30,000 GPs, connecting them to some 270 acute hospitals and community or mental health hospitals. The system will be the first of its kind in the world.Health Secretary John Reid said electronic booking would allow patients to choose more convenient appointments around family or work commitments."Older people might fit their appointments around the schedule of their carer for instance. This is an excellent example of how technology will transform the experience of patients."source: 10 Downing StreetSo, will this really help or will the appointments system be even more fully booked than it already is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bvw Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 Sounds an excellent system, lets hope the computer doesn't get a virus. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 if it did, would it be able to book its own appointment?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doug Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 And if it does get a virus you can imagine the computer engineer shaking his head wisely and uttering those profound words "Hmm there's a lot of it going round at the moment. Let's give it a jab and put it to sleep for a couple of days". :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 9, 2003 Report Share Posted October 9, 2003 there wouldn't be any spare beds for it to sleep in......they would have to leave it on a trolley for at least 8 hours.............. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted October 10, 2003 Report Share Posted October 10, 2003 First of all you have to go on a waiting list to even see a consultant in the first place, don't let's forget that. The only advantage in this that I can see is that you eventually get to a hospital of your choice. The snag is of course that the poorer hospitals need bringing up to scratch first, or as it stands even though you book your appointment at the hospital of your choice, you may well end up waiting even longer to get there. Let's not get too excited until we think about it a bit more. As things stand at the moment, Cheesy is claiming that operation waiting lists have been reduced, but he always fails to address the problem of the waiting list to get on a waiting list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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