- Barcode scanning flagged more than 2,000 incorrect patient identity band scans at one hospital before medicine administration
- 168 hours a week returned to one emergency department — the equivalent of four full-time nurses
- Product recalls cut from eight days to 40 minutes
- But adoption remains uneven: among responding NHS trusts in England, average adoption across the standards used to identify people, products and places was 66 per cent, with wide variation between trusts
- Wider adoption could prevent 20 to 36 serious incidents each year, deliver £49m in recurrent productivity gains and generate £34m in one-off savings
17 September 2026 - NHS organisations are preventing avoidable harm and returning valuable time to stretched clinical teams through barcode scanning, but uneven adoption means patients and staff are not benefiting consistently, according to new research published today on World Patient Safety Day.
The independent report, commissioned by GS1 UK and developed by the PSC, examines Scan4Safety, an NHS programme that uses barcode scanning and GS1 standards to uniquely identify people, products and places. Scanning at the point of care helps staff verify that the right patient is receiving the right product or treatment, while creating an accurate digital record of what was used, where, when and for whom. This can help flag potential errors before they reach patients, stop expired or incompatible products being used and quickly identify affected patients and products during a recall.
Drawing on research involving 29 healthcare organisations and stakeholders across the UK, international case studies and national cost data, it finds consistent safety, productivity and financial benefits where Scan4Safety has become part of everyday practice.
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 concerning an implant used in surgery. Identifying affected patients would previously have required staff to search through paper records.
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."
While some trusts have extended scanning across wards, operating theatres, medicines and inventory management, others remain at an early stage or have not adopted it.
GS1 UK's healthcare standards maturity matrix, based on responses from more than 75 per cent of NHS trusts in England, found an average adoption score of 66 per cent across the three foundational standards measured: those used to identify people, products and places. The results varied widely between trusts.
Lord Carter of Coles writes in his foreword to the report: “The NHS contains outstanding practice, but too often that practice is not applied consistently enough across the system. The challenge is not a lack of good practice. It is unwarranted variation in performance, resource use and whether teams have the information, tools and support needed to make good practice normal.
“The question is no longer whether Scan4Safety works, but whether the NHS can move from committed adopters to consistent adoption across the system.”
This can mean a potential error being flagged before medicine is administered, or an expired product being stopped before use. At one large acute trust, scanning generated 15 warnings involving wrong-sided or expired products across trauma and orthopaedics and cardiology in 2025, allowing staff to act before the products reached patients.
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust reported a 76 per cent lower dispensing error rate in an area using barcode verification compared with non-implementation areas.
At Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, barcode verification flagged more than 2,000 incorrect patient identity band scans before medicine administration over two years, providing visibility that had not been available before implementation.
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.”
The same systems can also reduce manual work, improve stock visibility and help ensure the right products are available when needed.
At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, improvements to inventory management returned 168 hours a week to its emergency department, equivalent to the working time of four full-time nurses. The trust also reported no procedure cancellations caused by missing equipment over four years.
Across the first 19 providers in NHS Supply Chain’s inventory management system programme, £15.3m in savings had been captured by April 2026. East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust estimated that its programme would deliver a sevenfold return on investment.
The report estimates that if the 32 lowest-adoption trusts in England introduced inventory management systems and point of care scanning in theatres and medical device storerooms, the potential gains could include 20 to 36 fewer serious incidents each year, £49m in recurrent productivity gains and £34m in one-off savings.
The figures are based on conservative modelling and are not guaranteed outcomes.
The report concludes that mandate remains important but has not been enough on its own to secure consistent implementation. Successful adoption depends on clinical engagement, leadership, reliable product data, integrated systems, dedicated capacity and clear benefits measurement.
GS1 UK is calling for stronger national leadership to make Scan4Safety standard practice across the health system. It wants Scan4Safety and GS1 standards embedded in national digital, medicines, medical device and procurement programmes, practical implementation support for healthcare organisations and stronger requirements for accurate supplier product data.
The report also recommends including Scan4Safety capability when digital systems are procured or updated and introducing a consistent national approach to measuring benefits.
Anne Godfrey added: “The task now is to turn pockets of excellent practice into standard practice. Scan4Safety and GS1 standards should be built into the digital and operational programmes shaping the future of healthcare, with organisations given the practical support to implement them properly.”
- ENDS -
Notes to editors
The report was commissioned by GS1 UK and independently developed by The PSC. It builds on the first Scan4Safety evidence report, published in 2020.
The research draws on evidence from the UK and Ireland, international case studies and analysis of national cost data. Its estimates of potential future benefits are based on conservative modelling and are not guaranteed outcomes.
Scan4Safety was launched by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2016. It uses GS1 standards and barcode scanning to identify people, products and places, helping healthcare organisations create accurate digital records.
GS1 UK is an independent, not-for-profit organisation and part of the global GS1 network. In healthcare, it works with organisations across the system to support patient safety, traceability, interoperability and operational efficiency.
For further information or requests for interviews, please contact:
- Max Fairhurst, max.fairhurst@redbrickroad.com, 07799 739438
- Alex Cox, alexander.cox@gs1uk.org, 07464946769
About GS1 UK
Whether online, in store or in a hospital, the common language of GS1 global standards is helping our community of more than 60,000 organisations across the UK to uniquely identify, describe and track anything, creating greater trust in data for everyone.
From product barcodes to patient identity bands, GS1 standards have been transforming the way we work and live for 50 years.
We are now embarking on the next 50 years of industry transformation delivered through delivered through the next generation of GS1 2D barcodes - the GS1 DataMatrix and QR codes powered by GS1.
About The PSC - The Public Service Consultants
The PSC (The Public Service Consultants), the UK’s longest standing specialist public services consultancy, exists to make public services brilliant. We have deep expertise in rigorous mixed methods research and in using health and care data to drive change and improve outcomes. The PSC has provided digital transformation, strategic and system-wide change support across the public sector since 2006.
Public services are still meeting 21st century challenges with 20th century systems, and the answers often already exist. The PSC is now answering what public services need in the next 20 months, and what they could become over the next 20 years.