Matthew Campbell-Hill

NHS Digital merged with NHS England on 1 February 2023. The NHS has been redesigned around the creation of integrated care systems, and this requires a redesign at the centre of the NHS in England. Data and technology power our NHS.  They are crucial to: • working in more efficient ways • improving diagnosis and treatment • understanding and improving our services This merger will reduce duplication, bringing the NHS’s national data and technology expertise together into one organisation. This will allow us to collaborate more effectively and to empower local organisations to benefit from data and technology, supporting the best care for patients. https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/nhs-digital-merger-with-nhs-england

Enhanced aerosol barrier protection over and above standard PPE requirements has helped in protecting the medical staff from the risk of contracting COVID-19 infection via respiratory secretions during airway management procedures. However, it can take up to seven minutes to correctly and safety apply full PPE from time of arrival. Recent changes to resuscitation guidelines to offer further protection may in fact delay medical staff from the early and urgent interventions on critically ill patients they are trained to provide. We have developed AerosolShield, a tool for staff to rapidly form a workable protective barrier around a patient before carrying out life-saving procedures, wherever they are. Our manufacturer already supplies NHS and armed forces around the world with medical isolation units. The AerosolShield is a wrapped, disposable, mini pop-up tent covering the patient patient’s head, neck and shoulder-level chest area with further coverage of the torso through an integrated drape. The deployed shield is optically clear and has self-closing access points, allowing medical staff to have easy line-of-sight hand access in and around the patient’s airway. AerosolShield is significantly lighter and cheaper than hard box solutions, and is collapsible for easy transport, storage and disposal in standard yellow clinical waste bins.

NHS Digital merged with NHS England on 1 February 2023. The NHS has been redesigned around the creation of integrated care systems, and this requires a redesign at the centre of the NHS in England. Data and technology power our NHS.  They are crucial to: • working in more efficient ways • improving diagnosis and treatment • understanding and improving our services This merger will reduce duplication, bringing the NHS’s national data and technology expertise together into one organisation. This will allow us to collaborate more effectively and to empower local organisations to benefit from data and technology, supporting the best care for patients. https://digital.nhs.uk/about-nhs-digital/nhs-digital-merger-with-nhs-england