§ Mr. Paul MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what pilot schemes for telemedicine and test result links between general practitioner's and hospitals he has set up in(a) Shrewsbury and Atcham and (b) Shropshire; and if he will make a statement. [103304]
§ Ms StuartThe Royal Shrewsbury Hospital National Health Service Trust is one of two hospitals in the country taking part in a major pilot into the use of telemedicine. The pilot aims to explore the benefits of using telemedicine, and when completed, which should be around June 2000, will report its findings to the NHS research body.
The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital has also established a test results links service, linking the hospital with local general practitioner practices. This system, which has developed into a countywide service, enables hospitals to transmit test results electronically to those GP practices involved, so providing a faster, more efficient service for the benefit of both patients and staff.
Telemedicine is a key part of the Government's plans for modernising and reconfiguring the NHS and the White Paper "The New NHS" stated our commitment to
developing telemedicine to ensure specialist skills are available to all parts of the country".The development of the NHSnet, which will be capable of connecting GP's and hospitals for the exchange of test requests and results, will enable rapid and accurate exchange of information within a modernised, more efficient NHS.