THE Friarage Hospital in Northallerton is launching new technology that will see its administration process for patients waiting for scheduled operations become entirely digital.

As part of the project, the hospital will ask patients to complete their digital health questionnaire at home via their mobile phone, tablet or computer.

The technology is part of a project by South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust working alongside digital healthcare technology specialist, Synopsis.

It will also be introduced at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough in the coming months.

It will allow staff at the trust to manage the pathway for patients waiting for scheduled operations from a central digital dashboard.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust's senior sister for pre-operative assessment, Rachel Foley, said: “Earlier pre-operative assessment interventions using Synopsis are allowing us to identify patients at high risk of being unfit for their operation sooner, and intervene with more effective medical input to ensure they stand the best chance of their surgery going ahead.

“The platform is also helping us to reduce unnecessary pre-operative assessment visits, so we can reduce the number of patients in waiting rooms at any one time. This will be especially beneficial as we tackle the backlog of elective surgery postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.”