Greater Manchester extends technology partnership

North Manchester General Hospital has joined eight Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust hospitals benefitting from a 15-year technology partnership with Siemens Healthineers. The expansion of the partnership represents an additional £40 million investment in work to transform care delivery in Greater Manchester, following an initial £125 million investment in 2021. The Value Partnership ensures provision and replacement of key radiology equipment, in addition to R&D collaboration and a range of value-added services.
Eighteen months into the partnership with Siemens Healthineers, the trust had received around 80 items of imaging equipment, predominantly x-ray and ultrasound, with several large installations in progress. A single hospital service for the city of Manchester and Trafford was created when North Manchester General Hospital joined the trust in 2021. This expansion of the Value Partnership takes the number of imaging assets under management close to 300 and enables investment in specialist services.
Trust divisional director of imaging Helen Kenyon said: “The extension of the Value Partnership to include North Manchester General Hospital is just the next step to ensuring better, safer and more consistent care to Manchester, Trafford and wider communities. The partnership has enabled us to look to the future, keep existing equipment up to date and ensure access to new technology, supporting us as we work towards digitalisation with the inclusion of innovations like artificial intelligence.”
The Value Partnership includes developing a roadmap for the future of the trust, with consulting support to optimise efficiency and workflows. Projects analysing ultrasound imaging pathways and booking processes for CT services have already taken place. Facilitated by in-depth study of ultrasound patient pathways from referral to report, the team has developed new ways of working, addressing challenges such as patient flow, ensuring scans are appropriate, booking and scheduling. An additional project to harmonise booking processes for CT services across trust sites is ongoing, with the aim of supporting the provision of an efficient and cohesive imaging service for excellent patient care.
Siemens Healthineers has also confirmed a memorandum of understanding with The University of Manchester. This formalises plans to tackle several key innovation priorities for Greater Manchester, including earlier detection and intervention of cancers and other health conditions disproportionately affecting the region’s population.
Picture: North Manchester General Hospital has joined a technology partnership with Siemens Healthineers.
Published on page 4 of the June 2023 issue of RAD Magazine.