Northgate given clean bill of health

VAR secures three-year contract with Quality Health and CHKS to aggregate data from patients that undergo hip and knee surgery

From April patients who undergo hip replacements, knee replacements, groin hernia surgery and varicose vein surgery will be invited to complete a short questionnaire

Public sector reseller Northgate Public Services has secured a three-year contract with the Department of Health to aggregate data collected from questionnaires completed by patients that undergo surgery.

Northgate will obtain the data from Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) questionnaires and work in partnership with Quality Health to ensure that there is minimal administrative burden on hospital staff.

Working with the CHKS, Northgate will be jointly responsible for statistical aggregation and data adjustments for presentation to the NHS, patients and the public.

From April, patients who undergo hip replacements, knee replacements, groin hernia surgery and varicose vein surgery will be invited to complete a short questionnaire about their health status before and after treatment.

Patients that choose to fill in the first voluntary questionnaire will be sent a follow-up survey by Northgate three to six months later, depending on the type of procedure.

David Meaden, chief executive of Northgate Public Services said: “Putting the public first is critical to the quality of public services. We are delighted to have been awarded this contract to measure the success of operations as reported by patients themselves.

“The information collected will empower patients and commissioners and enable clinicians to assess the success of various methods of treatment for patients.”

Meaden added: “We are committed to this programme and to putting the patient at the heart of quality health and social care. We look forward to working with patients and their providers to make this a world-class success.”

The contract adds to the work that Northgate currently carries out for the NHS Information Centre on Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and for Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) in delivery of the National Joint Registry.