Several hospitals in Essex have joined forces and formed the Anglia Ruskin Health Partnership, in order to deliver a more integrated social care within that region.
Among the six projects that aim to reach their target, is the implementation of Apple's new iPads into the hospital daily routine. Basildon Hospital is the first facility to pilot the efficiency of the new high-tech tools.
The nurses here are going to rely on electronic charts to supervise their patients. The medical personnel will log on to iPad and record the patients' status, blood pressure, temperature, symptoms, and the evolution of medical conditions.
The integration of iPads in the hospital life is meant to assure a better consistency of medical observation and to enhance health care.
Mike Salmon, interim chairman of the partnership explains that the iPad pilot scheme is one of the many ideas that is simple but with significant benefits to patients. "Nurses go round regularly and take a patient's blood pressure and their temperature.
But what about the other things? "Has the patient got their food, but moreover have they eaten it? When did they last have a drink? When were they last turned over in bed?," detailed Mike Salmon, on the everyday use of the iPads.