There are different routes to implementing Scan4Safety depending on your organisation’s current position. Understanding the options available will help you choose the most appropriate pathway.
You can also view our ‘Scan4Safety in practice’ webpages to read detailed examples and guidance on applying Scan4Safety in different areas of NHS care.
Route 1: NHS Supply Chain IMS programme
For organisations without an existing inventory management system, the NHS Supply Chain Inventory Management Systems (IMS) programme provides a funded, supported route to implementation. NHS Supply Chain is expanding this programme to support all NHS trusts through to 2031, with NHS England investment.
The programme provides the infrastructure, systems, scanning equipment, and deployment support needed to establish an inventory management system as the foundation for Scan4Safety. Once in place, this infrastructure can be extended to support broader use cases including point-of-care scanning in theatres, medicines management, and patient identification.
The programme offers a structured blueprint project plan incorporating all key stakeholder activity, a dedicated deployment team providing training, templates, clinical and trust wide engagement support, and on-the-ground assistance. It takes a phased rollout approach that allows organisations to build experience and expand steadily.
The implementation cycle used by NHS Supply Chain typically includes project planning and kick-off, business process mapping, data gathering and system configuration, testing, staff training, go-live, and post-implementation compliance monitoring. This structured approach has been refined through deployments in an initial pilot programme across 19 NHS trusts and 89 locations. The entire process is underpinned by ongoing engagement with frontline teams as well as at a strategic level.
Contact NHS Supply Chain: ims@supplychain.nhs.uk
Route 2: Expanding existing systems
Organisations that already have inventory management systems, or other barcode scanning infrastructure, can focus on maximising the value of their current capabilities and extending scanning to additional clinical areas. You can read about some of the common starting points for expansion in the Scan4Safety in practice section of the website. These typically include areas where there are clear patient safety benefits, manageable technical complexity, and strong supplier barcode coverage.
Starting with a focused pilot in a contained clinical area allows organisations to build experience and confidence, demonstrate benefits that support wider rollout, and identify and resolve issues before scaling. Evidence from organisations that have taken this approach consistently shows that beginning with smaller, less complex areas before tackling larger or more complex deployments reduces risk and builds momentum.
Route 3: Independent procurement
Organisations can also procure Scan4Safety solutions independently outside of the NHS Supply Chain programme. This route requires engagement to ensure standards compliance, careful assessment of technology options and a strong internal implementation capability. Organisations taking this route should seek to learn from the experience of the growing community of implementing trusts and should ensure their chosen solution aligns with NHS data standards and interoperability requirements.
Barcode scanning for some specific use cases such as blood transfusion safety and closed-loop medicines administration has largely developed through separate national initiatives, led by NHS Blood and Transplant and medicines management programmes respectively. While these use cases share the same underlying principles as Scan4Safety and in many cases use compatible standards and infrastructure, trusts implementing these applications will typically receive guidance and support through those specific programmes rather than through the routes described above. You can find out more about these in the Scan4Safety in practice section of the website.
As with the NHS Supply Chain IMS programme some of these use cases provide the foundational infrastructure required to expand Scan4Safety into other clinical areas.
Principles that apply across all routes
Regardless of which route you take, the principles of effective implementation remain consistent. These include securing strong executive sponsorship, building a multidisciplinary implementation team, engaging clinical staff from the outset, investing in training and change management, and maintaining a focus on patient safety throughout.