NHS NATIONAL SERVICES SCOTLAND
the iPads . These relationships have been vital , as Flockhart explains : " Apple were a key supplier for us at a time when iPads were very much at a premium . We leveraged our good relationship with Apple and 02 to secure those devices just before Christmas when there was very high global demand ."
To bring this to life , on one occasion Apple chartered a plane to bring the devices over from China . " We were able to use our connections through the Scottish and UK Governments to speed up the process to meet the needs of the vaccination programme and get them through customs . The lead time for getting this stuff through customs is normally four weeks . However on this occasion , we got them through in 48 hours ."
Learnings from the pandemic Flockhart believes that a key lesson from the pandemic is that things can be done
“ COVID-19 has provided an opportunity to accelerate the digitising of more services , and has quickly enabled patients – particularly those in remote communities – with more ways to digitally interact with healthcare services ”
STEVEN FLOCKHART DIRECTOR OF CLOUD ENGINEERING & OPERATIONS , NHS NATIONAL SERVICES SCOTLAND
40 August 2021