A WIRRAL hospital trust has been named as one of the best for using innovation and technology to improve patient care.

Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (WUTH) has been named as one of the 'Most Wired' hospitals in the world.

In a ranking published by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), WUTH's 'Digital Wirral' programme recognises hospitals that are are the forefront of digital care and effectively use technology to deliver a high quality patient service.

WUTH has already been recognised as a Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) by NHS England, the trust has made a name for itself as one of the most 'digitally enabled' NHS organisations in the UK.

Director of IT and Information for WUTH Paul Charnley said: “For over 10 years we have been working hard to build on existing technology by adopting new clinical IT systems to enhance patient care here in Wirral.

“Our technology is already saving thousands of hours for our clinical staff.

"Time which is now spent on direct patient care.

"It’s a great achievement to receive this global recognition and we will continue to support our clinical staff with cutting edge technology that enables us to provide better, safer and smarter patient care.”

The trust has recently introduced their Patient Portal which is being used by patients being treated for colorectal, urological or breast cancer to reduce the number of follow-up outpatient appointments they need after completing cancer treatment.

Another of the trust's recent accomplishments is the implementation of the Wirral Care Record (WCR) which is helping care providers and commissioners in Wirral to know their population and identify risks and apply clinical recommendations to the public in a bid to keep them healthy.