NHS National Services Scotland Further Improves Patient Safety with Implementation of Genesis Across Hundreds of Hospitals

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) has selected Genesis as its partner of choice for an eight-year strategic initiative to deploy complete clinical traceability in hospitals across the country. The partnership will improve supply chain visibility and control to enhance patient safety, reduce costs, and realise greater clinical efficiency. The agreement represents a strategic investment that will enable NHS Scotland sites to alleviate specific pain points at the height of the pandemic while paving the way for long-term improvements.

NSS’s pursuit of complete clinical traceability was initially prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in global shortages of PPE and ICU-critical consumables. Genesis will provide Scottish hospitals with accurate, up-to-date insights on PPE and consumable stock levels, availability, expiries, consumption patterns, and projected demand. Genesis formalised this capability last year in direct response to clients’ urgent need to better manage supplies at the height of the pandemic. In addition to significantly improving visibility and mitigating shortages, the platform also dramatically simplifies recall management in the event of a quality issue.

“The pandemic has introduced challenges around forecasting demand, keeping track of supply recalls and expiries, and ensuring that we have the necessary PPE and ICU critical consumables where and when they are needed,” said Gordon James, Director of Procurement, Commissioning and Facilities for NHS National Services Scotland. “In addition to helping NHS Scotland to alleviate the immediate pain points associated with the pandemic, Genesis will enable us to embrace a more dynamic and data-driven approach to managing our vital supplies long into the future. With Genesis, we will be able to maintain an accurate, cross-site view of supplies at all times.”

The initial deployment is the first step in a site-wide clinical traceability initiative that will transform efficiency, visibility, and patient safety across hundreds of Scottish hospitals. Subsequent phases will focus on enterprise inventory management using Genesis Inventory, as well as point-of-care scanning in theatres and clinical wards using Genesis Clinical. As specified in the Department of Health and Social Care’s Scan4Safety initiative, Genesis supports accurate procedure costing, recall and expiry notifications, and other essential insights at the point of care. In turn, healthcare systems gain the ability to better understand expenses, reduce costs, and improve care quality at scale.

Genesis will replace a legacy inventory management system that has been used by NHS Scotland for 15 years. As a fully integrated, cloud-based, GS1-compliant platform, Genesis will deliver the contextualised, real-time data Scottish hospitals require to maintain an accurate view of consumption at all times and make data-driven decisions about the procurement, allocation, and utilisation of supplies. Genesis integrates seamlessly with existing systems for theatre management, patient management, pharmacy, and catering — streamlining data capture and automating key workflows. In addition to significantly improving patient safety and unlocking substantial cost reductions, Genesis will also offer transformative time savings for busy clinical staff.

“Genesis will reduce the time clinical staff spend manually counting stock, improving visibility and allowing for proactive rather than reactive supply management. The ability to link products with patients at point of use and highlight expiry dates, left and right mismatch, and recall stock will add another layer of security in preventing serious clinical errors,” said Jane McDonald, General Manager, Anaesthetics, Critical Care & Theatres at NHS Lothian. “I am confident that the system will allow our teams to focus on their areas of expertise, and I am hugely optimistic about the opportunities it will offer to improve patient safety.”

Though Genesis has worked in close partnership with the NHS in England since its founding in 2010, this agreement marked Genesis’s first time working with the Scottish government.

Speaking about the agreement, Noel O’Hanlon, Founder and Group CEO of Genesis, said: “We have found great success working with the NHS in England, and we are thrilled to be bringing our complete clinical traceability solution to Scottish hospitals. Our partnership marks a major strategic milestone for NSS, who has made a strategic investment in the safety of patients, the cost effectiveness of services, and the satisfaction of clinical staff across all sites. Our solution will empower Scottish hospitals with the contextual insights they need to continue to put patient safety first.”

About NHS National Services Scotland

NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) supports customers to deliver their services more efficiently and effectively. NSS offers shared services on a national scale using best-in-class systems and standards to underpin the work of the NHS in Scotland. Learn more at www.nss.nhs.scot.

About Genesis

Genesis is the Clinical Lifecycle Management Platform — five purpose-built solutions spanning data connectivity, strategic sourcing, inventory management, clinical utilisation, and spend management, powered by Genesis Intelligence. Learn more at www.genesisahc.com.