The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in unprecedented changes to the way the NHS delivers services, and the use of digital technology is no exception. The past year has seen in the NHS a rapid adoption of new digital technologies, changes in service delivery and ways of working, resulting in the re-deployment of wards and increased capacities in acute hospitals whilst reducing the risk of infection transmission in NHS settings.
Acute processes and underpinning patient systems
In the early stages of the pandemic, time was of the essence, the NHS needed to create a pathway for Covid-19 patients, improve infection control processes with technologies that were simple, safe, and efficient for staff and patients.
How has DEC assisted NHS Acute Trusts with this accelerated pace of change in process and technology and help the NHS improve its digital pathways?
We worked with a London Trust who, like all other Acute Trusts, needed to capture, track and report Covid-19 patients from presenting with symptoms in ED to admission, treatment and eventual referral or discharge. Engaging staff was key to designing an end-to-end Covid-19 patient journey with key front-line clinical and administrative staff championing the changes in the patient flow. This new patient pathway was configured on the Trust EPR system solution and mobile/iPad devices were introduced to provide an integrated view of patient data for front-line staff at the bed side, whilst adhering to newly defined infection control and prevention procedures.
Achieved for the Trust was a new usable pathway enabled not just by new EPR system solutions but more importantly, changes in staff mindsets and culture to rapidly adopt new ways of working with new infection control procedures and that drove patient flow efficiently without compromising quality of care or the Trust’s strategic direction.
The effects of Covid-19 are going to continue for a long time. As the NHS resumes routine and scheduled services, understanding where digital technologies can help and add most value is more important than ever. The pandemic has accelerated the use of technology within the NHS, with staff adopting changes in the way they deliver services and provide care and as healthcare goes through this digital evolution, large amounts of data have been created in the digital systems implemented within the NHS, for many settings, this is now in digital form as opposed to paper for the first time. Where will this digital evolution in the NHS lead us? The sky is the limit.