Northgate Public hosted an international meeting of health experts in Lake Como, Italy. The working lunch brought together international experts in hearing screening to discuss the role of the school screen, including current practice, protocols, challenges and future direction.
Northgate used the event to share the success of its school screening system in supporting services in the UK. While the event focused on the school entry hearing screen, Northgate’s system could support other countries in the early detection and identification for the entire school screening pathway including hearing, vision and growth.
Delegates discuss protocols and challenges school screening.
Northgate’s international event on June 5 in Cernobbio, Lake Como, Italy, made it possible for representatives from Europe, Africa, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand to listen to the latest UK research in school hearing and discuss the progress and challenges in their own countries. Northgate’s event was run in conjunction with the conference organised by HEAL (Hearing Across the Lifespan), and was chaired by Professor Adrian Davis, Director, Population Health Science at Public Health England and an internationally recognised expert in newborn hearing screening.
The event presented the findings from a school entry hearing screening pilot undertaken in Sandwell, England. Dr Suki Dhillon of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust presented the evaluation results, the data for which was collected using Northgate’s school screening solution. Delegates had the opportunity to discuss the study in an international context and to understand the role the school entry hearing screen should play, particularly in those countries with an established newborn hearing screening programme.
Northgate has developed a highly successful Screening Management and Reporting Tool (SMaRT) for schools, offering a complete school screening solution, which was employed in the Sandwell project. The success of Northgate’s solution led to Sandwell implementing SMaRT as part of their ongoing practice and to its rollout in other screening programmes across the UK.
Professor Adrian Davis said:
“Screening hearing at school entry needs to be handled well and effectively, to provide screening management, failsafe and performance reports. The SMaRT system does all this and can integrate with the Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, as well as school roll data and handling the audiology outcomes for each child. It is a great first step to getting comprehensive data and reducing costs.”
Alan Campbell, Northgate’s Head of Screening Solutions, added: “Our Screening Management and Reporting Tool (SMaRT) for Schools is a complete school screening solution, supporting the entire screening process. SMaRT has been designed to be accessible to screeners, allowing for the secure and efficient collection of screen results. We are delighted to be able to share this technology with screening experts from across the globe.”
About SMaRT
SMaRT removes the need for paper-based records. Its data security exceeds the rigorous NHS information security standards whilst accounting for the constraints of school settings. SMaRT for Schools is a complete school entry hearing screening solution which provides work lists, data capture and onward referral management through an easy to use, easy to access system.
About Northgate Public Services
Northgate Public Services plays a unique role in the delivery of efficient and effective public services. We have built an understanding of, and been committed to, the complex, changing and often challenging business of delivering services in local and central government, safety and healthcare. We help public service providers reduce costs and deliver people-critical services. The strength of these foundations is The Northgate Advantage, a combination of deep public sector expertise and insight, our advanced technology platforms and applications, and a portfolio of flexible service delivery options. Our commitment to understand our customers’ needs and the needs of their customer, the citizen, is what allows us to deliver business-critical capabilities which positively impact upon the lives of millions of people.
For more information about the conference visit https://www.heal2014.org/
