A future built on trusted data
Imagine a future where every patient interaction is underpinned by trusted data, captured once and used many times. A future where clinical decisions are safer, operations more efficient, and systems more responsive – all enabled by Scan4Safety.
This isn’t just an aspiration. With universal adoption of Scan4Safety principles, we can create an NHS where accurate, real-time information linking every patient, product, and place becomes the foundation for transformation.
Unlocking potential at every level
At the organisational level
With universal adoption of Scan4Safety principles, individual trusts can unlock powerful local benefits:
- Reduced clinical variation by using accurate data to identify, share, and scale best practice across departments and specialities.
- Optimised processes through visibility across departments to streamline care pathways and eliminate inefficiencies.
- Greater efficiency by improving inventory control, reducing delays, and releasing staff time back to direct patient care.
- Fairer funding and sustainability through accurate patient-level costing and more informed allocation of resources.
At the system and national level
When scaled nationally, Scan4Safety becomes a true system-wide enabler:
- Benchmarking and learning by comparing performance across providers, identifying leaders, and accelerating improvement across the NHS.
- Safer, faster recalls ensuring affected patients are identified and treated quickly, building public confidence in NHS safety systems.
- Evidence-based procurement using device and outcomes data to inform national purchasing decisions and drive better value.
- Reducing unwarranted variation by highlighting inequalities in care, outcomes, and access, enabling targeted improvement.
- Transparency and accountability meeting the expectations of patients, regulators, and policymakers for safety and value.
- Improved planning using accurate pathway-level data to anticipate demand, reduce waiting times, and track recovery outcomes.
The Use-Improve-Innovate Framework
The path to this vision follows a clear progression:
Non-urgent advice: Use
For organisations not yet using Scan4Safety: begin implementation to meet safety and compliance needs. Every scan immediately improves safety and provides valuable data.
Non-urgent advice: Improve
For those with partial or localised Scan4Safety adoption: extend use across more pathways, specialities, and sites. Build on early successes to create comprehensive coverage.
Non-urgent advice: Innovate
For mature adopters: use Scan4Safety data to drive service improvement, research, and strategic planning. Transform data into insights that reshape care delivery.
Strategic alignment with NHS priorities
Scan4Safety’s strategic importance is clear. It aligns with the NHS 10-Year Plan, supported by the NHS Patient Safety Strategy and Digital Clinical Safety Strategy, and NHS Net Zero ambitions.
- Patient safety: By linking patients, products, and procedures, it strengthens patient safety by preventing errors and enabling rapid recalls.
- Digital transformation: Through automation of stock and data processes, it saves thousands of clinical hours while enhancing digital maturity by feeding high-quality data into electronic patient records and national registries.
- Sustainability and value: It reduces waste, improves procurement, and builds supply chain resilience, helping trusts meet financial, equity, and sustainability targets, including Net Zero ambitions.
Policy and regulatory momentum
Multiple regulatory and policy drivers reinforce Scan4Safety’s importance:
- Regulators including MHRA, CQC, and NHS England are raising expectations for safety, data quality, and digital maturity. Scan4Safety provides future readiness for evolving device tracking frameworks and international compliance.
- Clinical drivers include safer care through accurate product traceability, reduced variation in clinical practice, and alignment with broader NHS clinical safety strategies.
- Political and public trust considerations, highlighted by inquiries such as the Cumberlege Review and Infected Blood Inquiry, demonstrate the need for system-wide improvements in traceability and accountability.
A digitally enabled NHS
Our vision is ambitious but achievable: a digitally enabled NHS that continuously learns, improves, and delivers safer care – powered by data that is standardised, shared, and trusted.
Scan4Safety is not just a technology programme but a transformation in how the NHS delivers safer, more efficient care. By embedding scanning into daily practice, it creates safer environments for patients, gives time back to staff, and delivers better value across the system.
The opportunity is clear: accelerate adoption, standardise approaches, and embed Scan4Safety as a core part of NHS patient safety and operational excellence.