Conference delegates tour University Hospital Aintree 

The delegation was warmly welcomed by James Birrell, chief executive of Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, before delegates set out to tour the £34m development.

The centre opens to outpatients on 28 June with day surgery and other services transferring later in the year.

New facilities

Delegates were impressed with the quality of the facilities and how the trust will be ensuring electronic patient record keeping on the site. A presentation from Ward Priestman, director of informatics, illustrated how the trust is implementing and developing its electronic patient record and moving towards an integrated system incorporating scanned paper records and access to the GPs systems.

Reporting systems

Mark Johnson, assistant director of performance, demonstrated the reporting systems the trust has in place to ensure business information is delivered to clinicians and managers to help inform decision making and ensure a quality experience for patients. Delegates also met medical and nursing staff from the hospital’s regional ventilation weaning unit and the medical emergency team, which has reduced cardiac arrest calls by 36%.

Sir Keith Pearson, chair of the NHS Confederation, said: “We were delighted to visit University Aintree Hospital this morning and to see for ourselves the new Elective Care Centre. It is clear that the freedom and flexibilities granted to the hospital as a foundation trust have allowed it to invest in these impressive facilities, which will no doubt improve the quality of service delivered to local patients”.