FIRST it was policemen with tablets and now nursing staff in Worcestershire will be embracing technology to help keep them informed when out and about.

We revealed last month how West Mercia Police plans to kit out frontline officers with tablet computers to keep them out on the beat and cut down on paperwork.

Now Worcestershire Health and Care Trust is about to embark on a new pilot scheme to give nurses smartphones and digital pens to enable them to access records and write up notes when in the community. The move is part of the trust’s drive to reduce hospital admissions and treat more people at home.

The trust says that nurses will need to be “truly community-based and equipped with the right technology”.

Colin Innes, head of IT, said: “Mobile technology has moved on so much that we can now introduce systems that mean our staff are as well-informed in a patient’s home as they would be ‘in the office’. We can deliver more complete information to nursing staff as well as reducing the burden of administration. That means more time is available to care for patients.”

The trust is targeting saving £8 million a year until 2017/18. But it says the change in the way care is delivered is first-and-foremost about evolving with an ageing population and providing people with the sort of care they want and expect. It says patients say they would prefer to be cared for in familiar surroundings and avoid hospital admission so long as it is safe and appropriate.

Mel Roberts, the trust’s clinical services locality manager for south Worcestershire, said: “People will get the right care in the right place and we believe there are a number of opportunities when people are admitted to hospital that they could receive the same or even a more effective level of care in the comfort of their own homes, closer to friends and family.

“Caring for people at home also helps us support people’s long-term conditions and avoiding symptoms developing into a crisis. There are clear clinical benefits for the individual of staying in an environment familiar to them.”

The care at home approach has received national backing from the NHS Confederation.

Director of policy Jo Webber said: “For too long, the default setting when we think about healthcare or support is to think of a hospital.

“In reality, acute hospitals are rarely the best place for someone who needs on-going health or treatment.”