Public Sector Roundup: SMS for cancer screenings

SMS to boost breast cancer screenings

Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust has teamed up with mobile firm iPlato to let 20 surgeries in East London send their patients text message reminders for breast cancer screenings.

Virginia Patania, practice manager at the Jubilee Place Practice, said: "We will be using the text messaging system for breast screening appointment reminders in the coming weeks... We are looking forward to the opportunity of providing an innovative service that aims to increase the effectiveness of the breast screening programme."

It is hoped the free service will encourage patients to attend screenings for the disease, which is the second most common cause of cancer in the area.

Wycombe signs $4.5 million managed service contract

Wycombe District Council has signed up for a five-year, £4.5 million managed services partnership with Northgate Information Solutions.

The firm already provides the council with citizen relationship management and revenue systems, but will now also provide and manage desktop and mobile working support for 650 employees.

Councillor Helen Wilkinson, Wycombe District Council Cabinet Member for Customer Services, said: "Wycombe District Council is committed to providing the best services for its staff and citizens by adopting innovative practices and new approaches to our work."

Public sector bodies get disaster recovery

Knowledge IT - a North East business communications service supporting several public sector groups - has invested £5 million in a new disaster recovery service from ntl Telewest Business.

A dedicated high-speed fibre will link up three sites across the region, letting customers - including Durham City Council, Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue - relocate their physical offices and continue working in the case of disaster.

"The majority of businesses don't plan for IT failures and yet these events are becoming more common and the threat to business continuity is very real. Knowledge IT aims to ensure that its customers do not suffer any down time in the event of a disaster," said Kevin McAndrew, technical director, knowledge IT.

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