A report by GS1 UK, in partnership with Public Service Consultants (PSC), suggests that rolling out barcode scanning across the NHS could save up to £49 million in productivity costs, result in 36 fewer serious incidents a year, and deliver £34 million in one-off savings.
Scan4Safety programme
The Scan4Safety programme, launched by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2016, uses barcode scanning to track medicines, medical devices, and equipment, providing staff with accurate real-time data on what was used, where, when, and for whom.
Patients receive a wristband with a unique barcode at admission, and their bed bay is scanned to confirm their location. During treatment, staff scan the patient's wristband, medication, and any equipment used, helping ensure the right patient receives the right treatment, dose, and timing. This eliminates manual recording and reduces opportunities for human error.
Findings from healthcare organisations
Researchers examined 29 healthcare organisations across the UK and Ireland, along with international case studies, finding that trusts using the technology daily had improved patient safety, efficiency, and stock management. However, average adoption of the three foundational standards behind Scan4Safety stood at 66% among responding NHS trusts in England, with wide variation between trusts.
At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust's emergency department, barcode scanning and better stock management returned 168 hours of nursing time to clinical care each week. The same trust reported no procedure cancellations caused by missing equipment over four years. At Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, scanning flagged more than 2,000 incorrect patient identity band scans before medicine administration over two years.
Case studies and calls for wider adoption
At Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, a product recall that would previously have taken eight days was completed in 40 minutes, producing a list of 500 patients for clinical review. In 2024, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust received an alert about an implant used in surgery; without scanning, staff would have needed to search paper records to identify affected patients.
Ish Ahmed, upper GI consultant and clinical Scan4Safety lead at the trust, said: “As soon as that alert came out, by the press of a button we had a whole list of patients impacted by the recalled implant within 17 minutes.”
The report found that success requires clinical support, strong leadership, reliable product data, integrated systems, dedicated resources, and clear ways to measure benefits. GS1 UK is calling for stronger national leadership to make Scan4Safety standard practice, including building the approach into national digital, medicines, medical device, and procurement programmes, with practical support for healthcare organisations and stricter requirements for suppliers to provide accurate product data.
Anne Godfrey, chief executive of GS1 UK, said: “Safe care depends on giving staff the right information, tools and support. When clinical teams have to search for equipment, carry out manual checks or work with fragmented information, it puts further pressure on people who are already stretched and takes valuable time away from patients. This report shows that scanning can identify potential errors, make recalls faster and return time to clinical care. But the benefits are not being realised consistently. Patients and staff should be able to rely on the same standards of identification and traceability wherever care is delivered.”
