FEATURE
REGENERATING THE EAST MIDLANDS
How cutting-edge technology can
streamline vital NHS services
By Lee Copestake (pictured), Technical Director, BookWise Solutions
It’s little secret that pressures on commercial businesses across the East Midlands are arguably the greatest they have been in recent memory. The increasing running costs, coupled with an uncertain
marketplace due to Brexit, has caused major headaches for the region’s leaders. Similar impacts are also being felt within our public services, with staff being further stretched as service demand continues to outsize resources. Never far from the news headlines, the NHS continues to
be at the epicentre of these concerns. Expectations, and rightly so, for medical practices and trusts to improve waiting times and customer care are high on the public agenda and while finite human resources are available, much can be done to create more efficient facilities for both patients and staff. We’ve been working closely with hospitals across the UK
to help address these concerns. By providing software solutions to reduce admin time for staff, this allows them to focus solely on providing the highest levels of patient care possible. The software package BookWise Outpatients is a crucial
tool for many trusts, with most previously still using outdated paper diaries as a means of booking rooms. This severely limited the ability to coordinate rooms, staff and equipment, particularly in an environment that must be ready to cope with heightened levels of emergency demand at a moment’s notice. The concern across the East Midlands and beyond is that
patient demand is showing little sign of slowing down. By 2045, nearly a quarter of the population will be 65 years of age or older, according to the Office for National Statistics – compared to 14.1% in 1975 and 17.8% in 2015. With the corresponding larger proportion of people
within the older demographic comes an increase in the number of chronic health concerns, which will no doubt have a serious impact on our health services. BookWise Oncology has been developed to specifically
manage appointments and available resources at day units. The software makes it easier to secure and plan bookings, enabling the streamlining of the patient journey. The outcome is a reduction in waiting times between arrival and treatment, resulting in a smoother experience for patients coupled with less pressure for Oncology staff. The benefits of incorporating this form of automation within healthcare and corporate organisations include:
54 business network July/August 2018
TRANSPARENCY OF RESOURCES Booking software allows a transparent overview of all available space. It can also show the resources that are available at any current time. It enables resources to be tracked and provides a full audit trail regardless of the time of day, space or equipment. This is a crucial timesaver for staff who might not have time to complete an accurate review of a business’ resources.
AUTOMATING COMMUNICATION OF REQUIREMENTS Making information available to all parties in a facility reduces confusion when it comes to catering for any specific needs. Informing individuals of available space and equipment and allowing them to directly book rooms can reduce wasted time.
SECURITY Full access rights can be given to management along with the ability to restrict user access rights. An automated system removes the human error element and saves times and money along the way.
EXCEED BUSINESS TARGETS Technology can provide access to a wide range of reports and the ability to monitor all activity within a business, allowing companies across the East Midlands to maximise their resources.
KEEP IT SIMPLE A transparent, flexible and easy to use system is paramount. For hospitals or corporate organisations to meet the needs of multiple sessions, managers should be able to track room availability on multiple dates, allocate specific equipment and designate room attributes needed per session, taking the legwork out of the equation with a clear interface.
While the requirements for commercial businesses across
the East Midlands vary drastically compared to the outpatient department of a hospital, the challenges when it comes to efficiency are universal. Automation and the Internet of Things (IoT) should be utilised wherever possible to enhance the staff, patient and customer experience as opposed to replacing physical human resources altogether.
‘The concern across the East Midlands and beyond is that patient demand is showing little sign of slowing down’
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