A Scottish health board is introducing a hi-tech digital system that helps staff quickly identify patients whose health is deteriorating.

The innovative Patientrack electronic observations system – which allows nurses to record patients’ vital signs on iPads instead of paper charts – is to be rolled out across Lanarkshire’s Monklands Hospital and University Hospital Hairmyres.

Some community services are also expected to eventually have the new system installed.

University Hospital Monklands chief of nursing services Karen Goudie explains the new software uses key factors like a patient’s pulse, temperature, blood pressure, oxygen level and breathing to automatically calculate an ‘early warning score’ and alerts clinicians if there is cause for concern, such as the onset of sepsis or hypoglycaemia.

The system also assesses patients’ fluid balance and nutrition and generates an automatic referral to dieticians or other services where appropriate.

While NHS Lanarkshire is in the midst of planning for a new hospital to replace the current Monklands site, the existing hospital is testing the use of an ‘operational command centre’, where large screens display live Patientrack data along with other key information such as emergency department activity, bed numbers and ambulance arrivals.

The data is also available digitally across the hospital so that clinicians can instantly see the condition of the sickest patients.

Ms Goudie added: “Patientrack has been piloted on five wards and we’ve learned from our own experience and that of other UK healthcare providers that the system brings a number of clinical benefits.

“These include reduced harm from serious conditions such as hypoglycaemia, acute kidney injury and sepsis, and better outcomes for patients with acute illnesses.

“It also improves the staff’s sense of wellbeing and fulfilment because a digital system is more efficient and allows them more time with patients.”

Monklands Replacement Project (MRP) director Graeme Reid said: “The MRP’s goal is for the new University Hospital Monklands to be Scotland’s first digital hospital, using systems that allow a more agile response to the challenges the NHS faces, such as covid-19.

“That’s why the current Monklands site is leading the way in taking forward technological advances, such as Patientrack, that will be a core element of our operational command centre and our plans for a new, state-of-the-art hospital to serve the communities of Lanarkshire for decades to come.”

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