Doctors and nurses in Kent are being given iPads to keep track of patients' progress in hospital.

East Kent Hospitals is spending £500,000 on the new technology, which will also let staff know if a patient has started to deteriorate.

The VitalPAC system will be used first at Margate's QEQM Hospital from March and will take nine months to be rolled out elsewhere.

It will enable nurses to record patients’ symptoms electronically into iPads at the bedside.

The system automatically analyses this information, along with data such as blood test results, and issues an urgent alert if the score reveals the patient is in need of immediate medical attention.

Once the data has been recorded, it can be assessed by any clinician from anywhere in the hospital.

Julie Pearce, chief nurse and director of quality and operations at East Kent Hospitals Foundation NHS Trust, said: "This system will ensure we identify deteriorating patients quickly throughout the hospital.

“It is a very user-friendly system and is well-liked by staff in hospitals where it is already in use.”

The hospital said studies have shown VitalPAC can lead to three times fewer errors in patient risk assessments than traditional pen and paper methods.

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