BJSS, the Award-Winning Delivery-Focused IT Consultancy, and the clinician-supported Apperta Foundation CIC, today announce a partnership to promote the use of Open Source technology products across the NHS.

The partnership will initially target the deployment of LiveObs across the network of NHS Trusts in England. LiveObs is the BJSS-supported Enterprise edition of the Open e-Obs product, enabling real-time, device-agnostic nursing observations and assessments, multidisciplinary escalation and handover, and clinical task/workload management.

Led by clinicians, the Apperta Foundation CIC is a not-for-profit, non-dividend paying Community Interest Company that brings open products and services to market that truly transform the delivery of care for clinicians and patients.

BJSS has a strong track record of successfully deploying Open Source solutions in the NHS. NHS Spine 2 for example replaced commercial products with Open Source tools. Saving the NHS £21million in its first year, Spine 2 is the UK public sector’s largest Open Source-based system and a critical part of England’s national healthcare infrastructure. A further £10million cost saving was achieved by the BJSS-delivered NHS E-Referral Service, the successor to Choose and Book.

“BJSS and Apperta share many values,” explains Mike Buck, BJSS Head of Healthcare. “BJSS has already demonstrated that Open Source can be used to deliver complex software solutions on a national scale, and this partnership with Apperta allows us to take this even further. LiveObs automates the collection of clinical observations, improving ward efficiency, safety and patient experience.”

“Partnerships with visionary organisations such as BJSS are important to Apperta and the wider NHS,” continues Dr Adrian Burke, Chair of the Apperta Foundation CIC Open LiveObs subcommittee. "Not only do open IT systems enable the NHS to innovate and transform the delivery of health and social care, but they also provide great cost savings that can be invested back into patient care. The Apperta team looks forward to working closely with BJSS on creating a truly open NHS.”