News

Echotech fund 20 staff to attend this years BSE conference

With the best-represented clinical echo department at this years British Society of Echocardiography Annual Scientific Meeting, Echotech funded 20 of it's team members to attend the conference in Harrogate.

This large presence at the BSE conference reinforces Echotech's committment to staff training and professional development with no clinics being booked over the conference period.

In addition, Echotech exhibited at the event, attracting a great deal of interest from BSE members, with many delegates approaching the stand to hear more about the Echotech service and offerings.

Echotech Exhibition Stand

Echotech Staff Prior to Evening Fancy Dress Ball

Echotech selects new ultrasound laptops for 'closer to home' services

Echotech, an independent sector provider of echocardiography services to the NHS, has taken delivery of six laptop ultrasound systems from Siemens Healthcare. 

The units will be used to provide mobile diagnostic imaging of the heart in community settings including health centres, polyclinics and diagnostic centres.  This outsourced service ensures prompt, local and convenient access to procedures for NHS patients and speeds up the GP referral to treatment times in Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).

The ACUSON P50 ultrasound system is newly launched in the UK.  It combines the flexibility, usability and mobility of a laptop, with the excellent image quality of a full conventional ultrasound system.  The unit weighs just 5 kgs and runs as a Microsoft® Windows®  application on an Apple MacBook Pro.

The P50 units were chosen by Echotech for their portability, superior image resolution and IT integration capabilities.  The six systems will replace incumbent ultrasound units and will be used to provide echocardiography services to PCTs in London, the South East and Midlands.

“Lord Darzi’s recent review emphasised the importance of delivering high quality services closer to patient’s homes. We believe that the independent sector has an increasingly important role to play in supporting PCTs in delivering care to the local community in line with 18 week referral to treatment targets,” states  Dominic Elton, Managing Director of Echotech Limited. “Our investment in best of breed ultrasound systems from Siemens will assist with expanding our offerings across the UK and in providing a high standard of clinical reporting.”

The P50 ultrasound units allow direct access to the internet. This will enable Echotech Cardiac Physiologists to securely archive ultrasound images onto its iCardiogram.co.uk server.  Instant storage and recall of the images is essential for the remote reviewing and reporting of echo studies.

Declan Dunphy, Manager of Products Performance at Siemens Healthcare states, “The ACUSON P50 offers high quality imaging for a variety of clinical situations.  It provides exceptional colour and Doppler sensitivity, the option of 2D imaging in harmonic and fundamental modes plus M-mode and anatomical M-modes.  We are delighted to be working with Echotech and look forward to supporting further as its service grows nationwide.”

Echotech awarded BSE Departmental Accreditation

Announced today and following a detailed assessment of Echotech’s clinical and service management specifications, the British Society of Echocardiography has awarded Echotech with standard departmental accreditation.

This is the very first time an independent sector provider has been assessed and awarded this status whilst currently there are approximately only 15 NHS Hospital Trusts in the UK that have gained this distinction. Another important detail is that the Echotech service model uses a 'virtual department' of clinicians, cardiac physiologists and support staff to provide cardiac diagnostics in the primary care setting.

Echotech was formed in 2001 and currently provides echocardiography services to approximately 20 PCTs and four acute trusts. The company employs highly skilled BSE accredited cardiac physiologists utilising the very latest mobile ultrasound equipment to deliver transthoracic echos to NHS patients across a very wide geographical area.
 
As Keli Glover (Echotech Clinical Operations Director) explains, 'It’s not enough to just offer a staff and equipment solution to Primary Care Trusts - there needs to be a highly formalised quality assurance process too. Our staff working from centres as far apart as Manchester and Hampshire never work in isolation. They have the back up of our senior clinical team to offer advice and education wherever and whenever they need it'.

Dominic Elton (Echotech Managing Director) continues, 'I am delighted that our clinical service, systems and procedures have met the BSE’s very exacting standards. It is down to the hard work and skills of our workforce that this recognition of quality rests and I am very proud'.
 
Two of the country’s most successful NHS partner IS providers - Care UK and InHealth have both chosen Echotech to deliver echocardiography services as a part of their NHS contract work; a reflection of the specialist expertise and track record of quality that Echotech has gained.

This vote of confidence from the BSE is likely to further enhance Echotech’s reputation.

Echotech wins bid with the Pennine Acute Hospital's NHS Trust

Echotech  has been successful in its bid to deliver Echocardiography services in partnership with the Pennine Acute Hospital's Trust. The contract based on an initial term of 6 months involves supplying approximately 300 scans per month in the north east Manchester catchment area. The start date is July 2nd 2008 and will involve the recruitment of two new staff members working flexible hours (include evenings and weekends).

Importantly, a key element of this contract is to provide one day a week echo training to the Trust’s cardiac physiologists in order to boost the number within their department holding BSE accreditation. This teaching element will be conducted by Jenny Tonkinson-Hoare, and will continue throughout the duration of the contract. The Trust has expressed an option to extend the contract for a further period of 2x six months.

By employing Echotech’s services, the Trust is cost effectively able to increase its diagnostic capacity in the short term whilst providing extra capacity in the long term through staff development.

Echotech to Provide Echocardiography Services for the InHealth Group

Commencing June 2008, Echotech will be providing Echocardiography services for the InHealth Group for both the London and Leicestershire localities.

The service will be providing GP direct access transthoracic echocardiograms exclusively for NHS patients.

In addition, Echotech has been named as the preferred echocardiography provider for all subsequent InHealth diagnostic initiatives.

The service agreement reinforces and reflects Echotech's committment to delivering quality - a service which is firmly embedded within a robust clinical governance framework.

 inhealthgroup.com

Echotech takes Echo into the Classroom

Echotech spent a second day at Portsmouth College this week with 'A' level Biology and Physics students.

Jenny Tonkinson-Hoare (Echotech Clinical Operations Manager) conducted the Science classes with a hand-held ultrasound system at the 6th Form College on Tuesday (22nd April).
 
Her visit to Portsmouth College had two objectives:

1. Support 'local' education and 2. raise awareness of the role of the Cardiac Physiologist as a possible career option.

During the interactive sessions, the students were able to see a 'live' heart scan in their own classroom. Clearly enhancing their own learning experience, the students were able to see first hand how cutting edge technology can be applied to their Physics and Biology Studies.

Echotech hosted a successful 3rd Community Echocardiography workshop

On Friday 7th March, Echotech hosted our 3rd Community Echocardiography Workshop in the Royal Suite, Wembley Stadium.

The meeting was Chaired by Dr Mark Dancy (Clinical Chair of the NHS Heart Improvement Programme) and featured presentations from Prof Martin Cowie (Chairman British Society for Heart Failure) and Dr Kevin Fox (Past President British Society of Echocardiography).

The event has received a great deal of positive feedback from the delegates both in terms of the relevance to daily practice and choice of venue.

The meeting highlighted a number of key areas:

The waiting time for echocardiography needs to be no more that 3 to 4 weeks in order to support the delivery of the 18 week cardiac pathway

An effective heart failure service requires a high quality echocardiography service

The recent review from the Healthcare Commission details the need to improve heart failure services in the UK

Community echocardiography services are extremely popular with GPs and patients alike and promote lean, cost effective care pathways

A successful community echocardiography service requires robust clinical governance including thorough, regular peer review

Four of the presentations can be downloaded here:

• Dr Kevin Fox Ensuring Quality
• Dr Raj Sharma Outcomes of a Community Echo Service
• Dr Subir Sen Commissioning a Community Echo Service
• Julie Harries 18 Week Cardiac Pathway

Echotech adopts the icardiogram reporting / archiving system

The icardiogram system draws study images and data from the ultrasound machine and uploads it directly to a secure internet site, the echo report is then completed and filed online (using the web browser).

Once uploaded the report and associated study images can be viewed and reviewed by anyone with the appropriate security privileges.

Patient data is entered once onto the ultrasound machine and this data is drawn across and pre-populates the report from. The software will recognise the reporting technician and NHS location from the data and allocate it to the correct “pool” on the central server.

Echotech staff in the field are able to tick the “peer review” box which notifies the Manager that there is a report that needs to be checked over. The Manager will be able to do this from any internet terminal within minutes of the report being uploaded. If the Manager feels that the report and images require further review she can refer it up to the Clinical Operations Director and / or Clinical Lead.

The other advantage of this system is that Cardiologists in the local NHS network can be offered access to the study report and images too, hopefully eliminating the duplicated hospital studies.

Icardiogram studies will be fully integrated into our existing EchoNet Database.

Link: http://www.icardiogram.com/

Echotech to provide an echocardiography service for a Leicester based GP led heart failure clinic

Commencing 7th February 2008, Echotech will be providing a community echocardiography service to support a GP-led 'one-stop' heart failure clinic for Leicester PCT.

Example of care pathway

The sessions will run on a weekly basis, every Thursday afternoon (between 6 to 8 patients).

Echotech provides echo service at newly opened Havant NHS Diagnostic Centre

Echotech is now providing an echocardiography service for Care UK at the recently opened Havant NHS Diagnostic Centre and represents the 4th initiative with Care UK.

Havant NHS Diagnostic Centre

The first clinic at the Havant NHS Diagnostic Centre was held yesterday (Thursday 17th January 2008) and will be run on a weekly basis.

The service will be providing direct access transthoracic echocardiograms to the GPs of the East Hampshire locality.

Echotech scans 10,000 patients in the community

Echotech Ltd today is pleased to announce its community focussed echocardiography service has performed its 10,000^th patient study. Echotech is a private sector provider exclusively serving the NHS since 2003 to deliver non-invasive cardiac diagnostics in the primary care setting.

Echocardiography, usually abbreviated to echo, uses ultrasound to image the heart. This painless procedure is used to provide detailed information on the structure of the heart and the direction of blood flow through its chambers, and allows the function of the muscle tissue of the heart to be assessed with relative ease.

Increasing patient choice
A cornerstone of the Government’s health strategy is to give patients more choice about how, when and where they receive treatment. Echotech’s lightweight, portable machines are about the size of a standard laptop and provide enormous flexibility in where patients have their test, including GP practices, health centres and community hospitals, while relieving pressure on local out-patient services.

Reducing cost
The cost-savings advantage of Echotech’s portable equipment is that just a few machines can safely be used across a large number of sites, resulting in savings for the commissioning organisation. Additionally, Echotech’s procedure fees are well below the NHS tariff price for standard adult echoes.

Echotech Launches GP Echo Handbook

The NHS landscape is changing with a shift towards community based diagnostic services. The drivers steering this new direction in service delivery include clinical, political, financial and technological.

'Procedures that could once only take place in hospital can now take place in the community.'
Our Health, Our Care, Our Say: A New Direction for Community Services DH White Paper Jan 2006

One such procedure that is becoming more widespread within the primary care setting is standard adult transthoracic echocardiography (echo), where the benefits of prompt, convenient patient-centred access have been clearly demonstrated. Alongside the benefits of community echo services, come new challenges including the requirement for General Practitioners to interpret echocardiography reports.

This handbook has been written with the intention of supporting GPs with this important need and thus facilitate the smooth part-transition of echo services into primary care.

This handbook aims to cover the use of echocardiography in the management of clinical disease processes.

The detailed principles of ultrasound are not covered but it is hoped the reader will gain information that will allow better understanding of the reasons for requesting an echo and how the results should be interpreted in a clinical context.

To download complete handbook please click here.
 
To receive your own free hard copy click here.

Echotech cited in recent report as 'London good practice - an effective care model in the community'

The report from the Long Term Conditions clinical working group, forms part of  'A Framework for Action'.

A Framework for Action details how Sir Ara Darzi (recently appointed minister at the Department of Health) believes London's healthcare needs to change over the next 10 years.

The document proposes new Polyclinics or 'super surgeries' providing such services as X-ray and ultrasound, thereby allowing services to be delivered closer to home.

Echotech awarded West Midlands diagnostic contract

Echotech is to provide both echocardiography and ECG services for NHS patients for the West Midlands region as part of Wave 2 of the Independent Sector Diagnostics Procurement Programme (Mercury Health / Care UK).

Echotech launches 'EchoNet'

EchoNet is an intranet based application developed for Echotech Limited by IBT Services. The organisation captures sensitive NHS patient details using a Microsoft Access database.

Previousely, the data was typed in to an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which was supplied to the relevant NHS organisations on a weekly basis. This process was very time consuming and costly to Echotech.

IBT Services have provided Echotech with an application that takes each Microsoft Access database remotely and stores the information centrally. Spreadsheets for each NHS organisation are automatically generated, saving the company large amounts of time.

Furthermore this application allows for the generation of bespoke service evaluation reports whenever required.

The Echotech organisation is spread over the United Kingdom and secure access to the application has been provided using Virtual Private Networks to allow remote employees to work with EchoNet and ensure that patient information remains secure.

Echotech to hold 3rd National Community Echocardiography Workshop

Following on from the successes of the first two meetings (Heathrow 2004 and Chelsea FC 2006), Echotech plans to organize a 3rd community based workshop in March 2008. The meeting will address the provision of RAPID diagnosis for cardiac diseases in the community setting.

West Sussex PCT extends community based echocardiography service

West Sussex PCT was pleased to inform Echotech that they would like to extend the community based echocardiography service under the same terms and conditions agreed with the former Adur, Arun and Worthing PCT with the exception that the service will now be accessible to all West Sussex patients.

Echotech to provide an echo service for the London diagnostics programme

Echotech is to provide an echocardiography service for NHS patients for the London region, as part of Wave 2 of the Independent Sector Diagnostics Procurement Programme.

As part of this, Echotech will be providing echocardiography in the following locations:

• The Centre Manor Park E12
• John Scott Health Centre N4
• Appleby Health Centre E16
• Hainault Health Centre IG7

Echotech Head Office relocates to new offices

Due to significant company expansion, Echotech head office has moved to the Portsmouth Technopole. The new premises benefits from excellent training room facilities as well as a fantastic view of Portsmouth harbour!

Echotech signs two year contract with Mercury Health / Care UK

Echotech has signed a two year contract to provide community based echocardiography services at the St Mary’s NHS Treatment Centre in Portsmouth and the Mid and South Bucks Diagnostic Centre in High Wycombe.

Echotech signs contract with IOW PCT following a successful 6 month pilot

Echotech will continue to provide prompt, direct access to community based echocardiography for NHS patients on the Isle of Wight. This follows the successful completion of a 6 month pilot.

Echotech signs contract with Enfield PCT

Enfield PCT wishes to commission a community based echocardiography service from Echotech. The service will provide prompt access to echocardiography at the Forest Road Primary Care Centre in Edmonton.

Echotech awarded Wembley community echocardiography and ECG contract

Brent PCT commissions community based echo and ECG services from Echotech. The Echotech service will support a Cardiologist led weekly clinic, a GPSI led weekly clinic and a GP open access echo service.

Echotech co-ordinates 2nd Community Echocardiography Workshop

The second workshop convened by the British Society of Echocardiography prompted excellent feedback from the delegates. 86% said they would attend a third meeting.

Echotech awarded ISO 9001 Certification

Following an assessment by an independent body, Echotech Ltd has been awarded ISO Certification. This prestigious award for quality is supported by the Government and recognised world-wide.

Echotech to provide the echocardiography service for the first 'super surgery' in the UK

Echotech will be providing the echocardiography service for the first 'super surgery' in the UK. Cardiology clinics (Consultant Cardiologist, SpR and Heart Failure Nurse) will move from the local Acute Trust to the Centre. The Centre based in Newham, East London represents the first 'super surgery' to open as part of the NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) private - public partnership.

Echotech signs Service Agreement with Newham PCT

Newham PCT will commission a Community based echocardiography service from Echotech Ltd to provide diagnostic support for a community heart failure clinic. The community based heart failure clinic will be led by the Practitioner with Special Interest (PwSI) providing prompt access to diagnostics and management of patients with suspected or confirmed heart failure in Newham.

Echotech to provide a community echocardiography service to Surrey PCT

The Service Level Agreement follows a short term contract agreed between East Surrey PCT and Echotech (from October 2004 to March 2005) for the provision of an additional echo service to reduce the waiting list. This has been successfully achieved with both parties happy with the outcomes.

Echotech signs Service Agreement with Bexley Care Trust

Bexley Care Trust wishes to commission a community based echocardiography service from Echotech to support a GPwSI led heart failure clinic.

Echotech co-ordinates 1st Community Echocardiography Workshop

This highly successful event led to a consensus statement for 'Community Echocardiography for Heart Failure’ from representatives of the British Society of Echocardiography, the British Heart Failure Society, the CHD Collaborative and the Primary Care Cardiovascular Society. Br J Cardiol 2004;11:399-402