Soliton IT supports the next chapter of radiology across NHS Wales
A major programme to modernise radiology services across NHS Wales is bringing together technology, people and workflows on a national scale, with Soliton IT IT’s Radiology+ solution playing a key role in the transformation.
The Radiology Informatics System Procurement (RISP) programme, led by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW), is designed to modernise the technology supporting radiology services across Wales. Working has a sub-contractor to the prime vendor Philips Healthcare, Soliton IT have delivered to all Health Boards in Wales a new national Radiology Information System, with Soliton IT’s Radiology+ product providing a national RIS system. For Soliton IT, the programme represents an important milestone in the company’s continued work supporting large scale radiology networks and demonstrating how a flexible RIS can support the needs of multiple organisations while still allowing individual departments to configure workflows around the way they work.
Radiology+ has been designed as a modular, workflow-driven RIS, incorporating patient planning, resource management, results distribution, and statistical analysis within a single system. Its configurable rules engine allows workflows to be adapted to different departmental requirements, while features including multi-site data sharing and vendor-neutral workload sharing support increasingly collaborative workflow models for radiology. That flexibility is particularly relevant in Wales, where radiology services operate across multiple health boards and organisations. The wider RISP programme is intended to improve the way imaging information is managed and shared, supporting more joined-up services and helping clinicians access the information they need across organisational boundaries. DHCW has highlighted improved information sharing, storage and distribution of imaging as important objectives of the programme.
Delivering a project of this scale is about considerably more than implementing software. It requires detailed planning, alongside close collaboration with health board radiology teams throughout the implementation process. For Soliton IT, that collaborative approach is an important part of any successful project. The company has extensive experience of large-scale RIS deployments, with dedicated project management teams supporting implementation, data migration, configuration and staff training. The NHS Wales programme also demonstrates the importance of designing healthcare technology that can support existing clinical workflows (rather than expecting users to completely change the way they work) whilst offering new enhanced workflows for radiology departments. All Health Boards represent complex environments, and the ability to configure systems to reflect local requirements can make a significant difference to user adoption and the overall success of a transformation programme.
As each stage of the national rollout progresses, the focus is ultimately on what the technology enables, more connected services, better use of clinical resources and a smoother flow of information between the people involved in a patient’s care. For Soliton IT, being part of the NHS Wales RISP programme has given us an opportunity to demonstrate the capabilities of Radiology+ at a truly national scale. It also reflects a wider shift in radiology towards connected, collaborative services, where technology needs to work across organisational boundaries rather than simply within individual departments.
The future of radiology will undoubtedly bring further advances in artificial intelligence, cloud technology and digital reporting. But programmes such as this highlight an equally important foundation: ensuring the underlying systems, workflows and information can work together effectively. By supporting the NHS Wales move towards a more connected radiology environment, Soliton IT is proud to be contributing to a programme focused not simply on replacing technology, but on creating the foundations for how radiology services can work in the future.
This news story has been sponsored by the companies concerned and does not represent the views or opinions of RAD Magazine.
