Storage and Retrieval of UHSM Records

University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation (UHSM) Trust is a major acute teaching hospital providing a range of services to the populations of South Manchester, the North West Region and beyond. UHSM incorporates Wythenshawe Hospital and Withington Community Hospital. With over 5,500 employees and specialist expertise in cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, heart and lung transplantation, respiratory conditions, burns and plastics, cancer and breast care services, the Trust is recognised as one of the major centres of clinical excellence in the UK.
Health records play a pivotal role in the delivery of care across the organisation and will continue to do so in the first years of the implementation of electronic patient records from January 2017. In addition to health records there are many non-clinical records and UHSM stores a significant number off-site and has been doing so for a number of years. These records may range from patient records (main files and departmental held) to financial and human resource documentation. There are approximately 30,000 archive boxes representing 60 departments, the largest being the Health Records Library with around 8,500 archive boxes stored at present. Due to the Goddard Inquiry and restriction on destruction of records, the quantity of storage required is likely to increase for an unknown temporary period of time.