Creative firm is ‘appy’ to help medics on the NHS frontline

BT HAS teamed up with software group Medic Creations to offer NHS hospitals a secure, specialised smartphone app to replace doctors and nurses’ antiquated pagers.

Medic Creations’ Medic Bleep works in a similar way to messaging servicewhatsapp.the software group and BT are offering a messaging app and wi-fi systems package, as well as Samsung hardware, to NHS groups.

The software group claims the app allows NHS staff to communicate urgent information more efficiently, more securely, in real time than pagers orwhatsapp.

It claims it can save doctors and nurses 48 and 21 minutes per shift respectively and produce annual efficiency gains of £1.4billion for the NHS.

Medic Bleep has replaced pagers at West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds and the software group says that discussions with other NHS organisations about replacing their ancient messaging systems are taking place. It hopes to roll out Medic Bleep across the country by the end of next year.

The NHS has been using pagers since its formation and is said to account for 10 per cent of global usage.