Blood Production and Tracking (BPaT)
Northern Ireland is leading the way in the development of a unique and very exciting regional transformational project spanning both Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS) and Hospital Trusts, and is the first of its kind in the UK and Europe. On completion, a fully functioning regional electronic ‘vein to vein’ donor management, blood production and tracking system will be in place.
For the first time ever, it will be possible to interrogate the entire blood transfusion system for meaningful information and insight not previously available. There will also be regional visibility of all blood stock-holding in Northern Ireland which will facilitate sharing and efficient use of blood and blood components across the province.
How will it work?
As a blood donor, you will be able to register to donate blood using an online donor portal and complete an online health check questionnaire. Your donation will then continue to be tracked through the production process in NIBTS until it is ready to be issued on request to any Hospital site.
For Hospital Trust blood banks across Northern Ireland, real time blood stock inventory will be better managed through the ability to submit blood stock orders via an online ordering system.
In the clinical setting, this system will facilitate electronic patient identification of each unit to ensure that the correct patient is receiving the correct unit of blood. It will assist with the identification of any potential problems with the transfusion process and enable onward reporting, ensuring increased safety and quality.
It is anticipated that the solution will be fully live across Northern Ireland in 2027.
The Team have recently entered the implementation stage of the Project. MAK-System Ltd have been awarded the contract and will be providing the ‘Donor Management and Production’ element of the solution in NIBTS through their ePROGESA product. Accuscience have been appointed as a subcontractor to MAK-System Ltd and will be delivering the ‘Tracking’ element across Trusts.
The BPaT Team were proud to welcome Health Minister Robin Swann to NIBTS Headquarters on Wednesday 15th May 2024 to launch the project. Read the full story on BSO News by following the link: Health Minister launches transformational blood production and tracking project
Upon completion in late 2027, Health & Social Care Northern Ireland will be the proud owners of a modern, innovative blood production and tracking solution – capable of tracking blood from donation from donation through to final fate transfusion.
We are looking forward to working with our suppliers and stakeholders to realise the regional implementation of this solution over the coming years.
For further info please contact bpat@hscni.net
For further information on Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service and how to donate blood please go to NIBTS
