Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust’s monthly Board meeting is to be held at the Digital Health Enterprise Zone in Bradford on Thursday 28 June.

This ‘Board on the Road’ meeting is part of the Trust’s plans to ensure that members of the community across Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven have an opportunity to see the Board in action and find out more about the organisation’s work. The Digital Health Enterprise Zone, which is part of Bradford University, is a place for technology and healthcare organisations to work together on innovative ways to deliver care to the community.

The Care Trust has been proactive in embracing technology to improve services. The Trust has implemented ‘agile working’ to allow members of staff, particularly those that work in the community, to use their laptops and mobile phones to log on and access information across the district. This enables staff to work more closely with the people who use the Trust’s services.

In July the Trust will also be rolling out a new computer system for mental health records, which will also show individuals’ existing physical health records and means that patient information is all accessible in one place for mental health and community nursing staff.

The Trust’s Chief Information Officer, Tim Rycroft, said: “As a Trust we recognise the importance of using digital technology across our services to allow us to deliver better care. All our staff have embraced changes such as agile working and using electronic patient records to make patient information more accessible. We look forward to visiting the Digital Health Enterprise Zone and seeing more innovative developments in healthcare.”

At the Board meeting, members of the public will have the opportunity to hear an update on the Trust’s mental health and wellbeing strategy, which is part of national plans to improve mental healthcare across the NHS by 2021. The strategy sets out goals including continuing to provide mental health support 24/7 and increasing access to services. The Board will update attendees on its award-winning First Response service, which has been providing 24/7 telephone support and referring people to the right local services for the last three years, rather than sending people out-of-area, and a broader range of Trust services including early intervention for people experiencing psychosis, and a new perinatal mental health service for expectant and new mothers.

The meeting is open to all members of the public and will take place on Thursday 28 June, 1:30pm to 4:00pm, at the Digital Health Enterprise Zone, 34 Peckover Street, Bradford BD1 5BD. For more details about the Board meeting, please call Ritta Harrison on 01274 363430 or email rita.harrison@bdct.nhs.uk. Board papers will be available on the Trust’s website: www.bdct.nhs.uk/board-papers.