NHS national IT system marks first birthday with £21m saving
Running costs slashed and response times reduced by 90% as solution handles up to 1,800 electronic transactions per second
The NHS has saved more than £20m in the last year alone after one of its most-critical IT systems was redeveloped.
Running costs of the new NHS Spine, which provides the foundation for 24/7 patient care and handles up to 1,800 electronic transactions per second, have been cut by £21m compared to the previous system.
In addition, system response times have reduced by almost 90%, meaning 750 hours in total are being saved across the NHS in England every single day.
Last year the new Spine was launched by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) in a project that involved the safe transfer of more than 40 terabytes of data and only five minutes of planned downtime.
Built in-house by the HSCIC in collaboration with agile software specialist, BJSS, the new solution is supported by a number of smaller specialist firms, including open source expert, Basho, using cutting-edge technology.
Just before reaching its first birthday, it successfully dealt with a record number of electronic registrations for junior doctors starting work with the NHS.
At the height of activity, almost 3,200 new registrations were handled in one day alone with no impact on service, a 37% increase on the equivalent day in the previous year.
HSCIC director of operations and assurance services, Rob Shaw, said: “Spine’s first birthday is testament to what can be achieved within 12 months in-house by a talented team working hand-in-hand with smaller, specialist firms.
“The savings, both in pounds and in precious hours, which we have achieved for the NHS in this first year alone, are clear, but there is still work to be done. We have deliberately designed the system to be flexible and adaptable to the needs of individual care organisations, which means it best meets the needs of NHS staff with new systems, improved speed, and functionality.
“Our aim is for much more to be achieved to the benefit of patients and the NHS before the Spine celebrates another birthday, and indeed beyond, as it continues to play a vital role as one of the most-vital IT systems in this country.”
