More than 100,000 Manx health records are being scanned.

The work is being carried out by a specialist document management company.

Digitising patient records is a key part of astrategy for Noble’s Hospital which launched last year.

Minister for Health and Social Care Kate Beecroft MHK said: ‘This is a real step forward for the whole “Digital Future” programme at Noble’s Hospital and is concrete proof that the department is absolutely committed to transforming healthcare in the digital age. It has taken hard work and careful effort to get to this point – as it should – but with a provider in place, we can really start to move ahead with this crucial new approach to how we deal with patient information.’

The contract has been awarded to MISL, which is being supported by local experts, Manx Business Solutions (MBS). MBS will be providing the location for the scanning to take place, from its premises in Tromode, as well as offering local knowledge.

The scanning will convert all the paper records and case notes held in patient records into electronic versions which can then be accessed by healthcare professionals using a specially designed viewer. A training programme has already started, to make sure that all those who need to access electronic records understand how to do so.

The scanning process is expected to start by March, and once the process is operating at full speed it is estimated that around 70,000 sheets of paper will be processed every single day.

The scale of the project is such that even at those levels of scanning it will still take around 15 months for the project to be concluded, and for all the existing paper records to be converted into electronic files.

The Department of Health and Social Care is also overseeing a number of other projects designed to scan and file the paper material, which will still be produced by the hospital every day.

The move to digital health record is a core part of the government’s digital strategy. Chief information and digital officer for the DHSC, Richard Wild, said: ‘I have no doubt that this will be a key enabler in transforming the way we deliver health and social care across the whole island.’