A clinical secure messaging app created by two junior doctors has been adopted by four NHS trusts.

Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust; Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust have adopted Forward Health, which has now sent more than five million messages through its clinical messaging platform and is already used by around 20,000 NHS staff across more than 100 hospital sites.

Launched in 2017, Forward Health allows clinicians to securely and compliantly share information with colleagues, to make clinical decisions more effectively, and manage their workload.

The platform removes the need for insecure consumer messaging apps and reduces reliance on outdated forms of communication such as the pager. 

The app was founded by NHS junior doctors Barney Gilbert and Lydia Yarlott, alongside entrepreneur Philip Mundy.

They launched the platform, which is NHS Digital compliant, after becoming increasingly frustrated at the outdated technology they were provided with on hospital wards.

Gilbert commented: “It’s great to see how quickly Forward Health has grown, from an idea we dreamed up during night shifts to an app which is delivering millions of messages and making a tangible difference to clinicians and patients across the UK.”

Yarlott said: “Five million is a brilliant milestone to reach and I’m proud of the whole Forward team for everything we’ve achieved. As well as saving the NHS precious resources I’m delighted to see the impact Forward Health has had on staff wellbeing.”

She added: “Improving job satisfaction for clinicians and enabling them to deliver better patient care speaks to the true heart of healthcare: the relationship between doctor and patient.”