Princess Alexandra Hospital: Las Vegas spend outstripped others

Staff from four NHS trusts attended events in Las Vegas in September 2023

Four NHS trusts sent staff to attend a conference in Las Vegas but only one spent tens of thousands of pounds, the BBC has learned.

It was revealed last month that the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) in Harlow, Essex, spent £58,000 on sending staff to the Oracle Cloudworld event.

Staff from three other trusts also went to the summit and a related event, but either did not pay or kept costs down.

PAH said it had nothing further to add to its previous statements.

The conference, which took place in September 2023, related to health information technology and was held at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas.

According to a Freedom of Information response obtained by Your Harlow in January, senior members of PAH staff attended the event.

At the time the trust said: "We can confirm that the costs for flights, subsistence and accommodation in respect of the conference in Las Vegas totalled £58,476."

Phil Holland, the hospital's chief information officer, said at the time that the funding had been agreed as part of a business case for the trust's new electronic patient records system - called "Alex Health" - and that the event "was attended by other NHS Trusts".

He added: "The conference provided us with an opportunity to see Millennium - our solution for Alex Health - being used by other hospitals, and for us to better understand the functionality and capability of the product.

"A multi-disciplinary team attended to enable us to capture insights from over 400 sessions that were taking place. This annual conference was the only opportunity to access all parts of the system, its developers and future developments under one roof," Mr Holland said.

The Oracle Cloudworld event was held at The Venetian Convention and Expo Center in Las Vegas

Three other NHS bodies have since confirmed their attendance at this and another related event, after the BBC sent Freedom of Information Act requests to hospital trusts across England.

Out of the hospital trusts that responded, Milton Keynes University Hospital (MKUH) confirmed 14 staff attended the "Oracle Health Conference 2023", which was a separate event run in a nearby venue at the same time.

"Ten of the 14 colleagues in attendance were clinical staff, there to understand industry insights and share best practice," the trust said. It added: "Staff from MKUH did not pay nor did the trust pay for anyone to attend this event directly."

'Sensible investment'

The County Durham and Darlington NHS Trust disclosed how four members of its senior management team also went to the Oracle Cloudworld event.

It said: "The supplier, a key provider of our electronic patient records system, covered the costs for flights and conference fees." It added that the trust had covered other costs, which totalled £3,619.

"The modest accommodation and incidental expenses shouldered by the trust are in strict accordance with our organisational policy and represent a sensible investment towards the strategic benefits and learning that such a significant conference promises for our organisation," it added.

Two specialists from the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust also travelled to Las Vegas to attend the conference but the trust only incurred expenses of £192.

"All other costs associated with this event (for flights, accommodation and food) were covered by the individuals themselves or by a third party," it said.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital is expected to be rebuilt as its buildings experienced maintenance and structural problems

The Princess Alexandra Hospital has been earmarked for a complete rebuild by 2030, as part of the government's New Hospital Programme.

Its current site has experienced structural and maintenance problems, including sewerage leaks.

The BBC asked the trust how it could justify spending tens of thousands of pounds on a staff trip to Las Vegas when other hospitals had done so with modest or zero spending, but it did not respond to this query.