If you have been paying attention to the NHS reforms that have been going on, you will be well aware that the NHS is changing. At a local level, care is shifting from hospitals to local community-based settings and there is a much greater emphasis on health improvement and prevention. Ordnance Survey’s geographic data has a role to play and is helping inform decision making and improve efficiencies.

Moving forward, there are plans for more joint planning between health and social care organisations as the responsibility for public health moves to local authorities. To support this, decision makers need to rely on well-informed and up-to-date information to support health service planning.

The Public Sector Mapping Agreement (PSMA) has a crucial role to play providing Ordnance Survey geographic data to virtually any public sector body in England and Wales – regardless of size. The 10 year agreement between the government and Ordnance Survey came into effect in April 2011 and provides centrally funded geographic datasets to members to help them plan and deliver their services.

The benefits of the PSMA are significant for health and social care agencies. Not only does the agreement improve collaboration on the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment – the means by which NHS trusts and local authorities work together to plan health and social care services for their local communities – but the innovative use of maps can also help achieve public health targets, streamline patient transport services, and support effective estate and asset management. Access to up-to-date and accurate mapping is also essential in responding to emergency calls effectively and maintaining a high level of service.

In Bristol, the Avon Information Management and Technology (IM&T) Consortium Health GIS team helped to improve the planning and delivery of drug and alcohol treatment services, as well as increase joint working between the city council and local Primary Care Trust (PCT). Using GIS, health commissioners were able to pinpoint the locations of treatment centres and determine where people using drug and alcohol services lived. Thanks to the PSMA, the trust was able to use data provided by both health and social care organisations to calculate the accessibility of local treatment centres and analyse the current provision of service. This will allow them to use their resources more effectively in order to meet demand.

One Response to “Geographic information being used in the NHS”

1. Dragons8mycat says:

   9, February, 2012 at 9:33 am

   Very interesting, I previously worked for West Sussex County Council as a GIS consultant and did a lot of work with the Health Sector in mapping Doctors surgeries and medical services in relation to people of certain backgrounds (old, young, disabled etc)….It suprised me just how much GI is used in the Health Sector that is never considered by the general public.

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