Saving Lives in the NHS Through Advanced Technology

The NHS Breast Screening Programme is the public body charged with driving continued improvement in survival rates for one of the most common forms of cancer. The NHSBSP was faced with two major problems at the same time: coping with increased patient numbers and moving from film based systems to digital systems.

The NHSBSP worked with Connecting for Health (CfH), the public body charged with managing technology for the NHS, and with CSC to investigate ways of using digital imaging to improve both accurate diagnoses and higher productivity.

CSC solution

CSC and CfH believed it was possible to develop the new PACS service, which now provides superior digital information to clinicians for a range of diagnostic purposes, as a way of improving the quality of breast cancer screening, but delivering a finished solution was not a straightforward process.

CSC’s task was to design an effective solution and make it work in arguably the world’s most complex service delivery organisation: the NHS.

Business results

The aim was to have the first digital imaging pilots live in late 2010 in readiness for the extensions to the breast screening programme by March 2011. In fact by November 2010, services had gone live at four sites, having been delivered two months ahead of schedule. Roll-out into other hospital trusts and to all 25 breast cancer screening services will take place in 2011, again ahead of schedule.

Clinicians immediately noticed the greatly improved quality of results from the very first day and, although statistical analysis of outcomes will require a longer period, they are confident that the new service is saving lives today. In addition, the breast screening PACS solution is now enabling the NHSBSP to cope with the larger numbers required by changes in NHS policy.

Clear, demonstrable benefits

"CSC delivered an integration project which presents clinicians with a seamless solution for breast screening. The project makes use of a successful national PACS infrastructure and has been a significant success. It has delivered clear, demonstrable benefits to the participating organisations but more importantly, to the women being screened," says Sarah Sellars, MSc PGCert DCR(R), Assistant Director, NHSCS.

Learn more

Download the full NHS case study (PDF, 288 KB).