Backed by £2.5m of Welsh Assembly Government funding, the new system - known as The Welsh Clinical Portal - will give one view of the information held about the patient, making it easier for healthcare staff to provide better care. It will bring together information held in the many hospital computer systems that doctors, nurses, clinicians and pharmacists use on a day-to-day basis.

The new system - known as The Welsh Clinical Portal - will give one view of the information held about the patient, making it easier for healthcare staff to provide better care.

The first phase of the portal, which has been successfully piloted at some hospitals, gives faster secure access to existing information.  Healthcare professionals at these sites are now able to request tests and view results electronically.

This latest investment comes as part of the Assembly Government’s Informing Healthcare programme which will improve patient care and the working environment for staff. Other systems recently approved as part of this programme include the patient’s website My Health Online announced earlier this week.

Mrs Hart said:

“Currently healthcare staff have to use many different computer systems throughout the day to be able to see the information they need. This can take a lot of time and may not provide the information that is needed to best treat patients.

“The portal will provide healthcare professionals with more information when they are treating their patients, helping to support their decisions and reduce the chance of inappropriate treatment or error.

“Getting to the final product will be a step-by-step process. As each stage of the design and development is completed it will be rolled out across Wales so any lessons can be learned and acted on, and the benefits seen quickly.”

The portal will help NHS Wales to work together to develop new information services and make better use of existing resources as set out in the One Wales commitment.

It has been designed by health professionals using the latest web technology to best help them in their day-to-day work and will be used in the same way across NHS Wales, meaning less training will be needed when healthcare staff move between hospitals.

You can find out more about Informing Healthcare and the Welsh Clinical Portal by visiting the Informing Healthcare website.