SUPPORT SERVICES
Matt Jeffreys, Wandsworth, and DNV Imatis
Matt Jeffreys is Commercial director of Healthcare at Wandsworth Group. Having joined the company as a factory employee in 1997, he has progressed through the business, holding a range of roles – from assembly and wiring, to engineering, planning, and sales. He has played a key role in the development of Wandsworth’s healthcare solutions, and has an in-depth understanding of the industry’s ever-evolving legislative landscape. As Commercial director of Healthcare, he oversees Wandsworth Group’s healthcare division, ‘delivering innovative, value-add solutions for customers and profitability for the group’. He also heads up the division’s end-to- end operations – from new product design and development, to procurement, sales, installations, customer service, and aftersales support. Wandsworth
Healthcare has been a leading supplier of nurse call systems in the UK for 70 years.
DNV Imatis is a Scandinavian provider of software and information technology specifically developed and adapted for the healthcare industry, and develops all software ‘in house’.
Efficient handling
of support service assignments that can be integrated with all departments.
response times and maximising resource utilisation. Smart task assignment can be based on zones, wards, or other pre-defined options, reducing the travel between each task, and ensuring more efficient use of staff members’ time. To amplify patient safety and productivity, if a task is declined or remains unaccepted within a specified timeframe, it automatically progresses to the next available person. This ensures that nothing slips through the cracks, maintaining a ‘closed loop’ process. From task assignment to completion, there is always a subsequent action to prevent oversights, guaranteeing that tasks are effectively managed, and that notifications are received promptly upon completion. This approach minimises the risk of communication gaps or missing details, which are particularly critical during shift handovers. Furthermore, the app offers robust reporting and
analytics capabilities. By tracking task completion times, staff performance, and equipment usage, hospital management personnel can identify areas for improvement, optimise workflow, and measure the overall effectiveness of support services.
Transforming task management at Østfold Hospital, Norway One hospital which has been able to create a more efficient and responsive healthcare environment by introducing task management for support services technology is Østfold Hospital in south-eastern Norway. Three services which have been transformed since the hospital partnered with DNV Imatis are cleaning, catering, and portering.
Cleaning requests are now placed via digital
whiteboards, and are immediately displayed on the cleaning staff’s mobile phones. Staff know which room to clean, and confirm completion via their tablets. The time it takes or the waiting period to have a room cleaned can be measured. The aim is to identify bottlenecks to enhance overall logistics rather than to time individuals. The hospital has been able to make changes to the cleaning schedules to better meet the departure needs of the day units. Nursing staff in the hospital’s day units are now able to place food orders for each patient right up until a couple of hours before the meal. This flexibility allows adjustments throughout the day based on patients who are fasting or require a nutrient-rich diet, among other considerations. The information entered into the digital whiteboards is accessible to the catering staff who prepare the food. This system has significantly reduced food waste.
106 Health Estate Journal October 2024
Improved collaboration Collaboration between the hospital’s portering service and care units has also vastly improved. Porter requests are made via the whiteboards, which involves fewer keystrokes, ensures more accurate requests, and reduces inefficiencies when collecting patients. Previously, the hospital had several manual routines involving the completion of various forms, much of which is now done digitally, resulting in efficiencies and time savings. The use of digital whiteboards across the hospital, and interaction between departments, helps staff to easily visualise any potential bottlenecks which, in turn, has allowed more effective resource deployment. As Trusts look to deliver more efficient, patient-centred, and data-driven healthcare, task management for support services is likely to be one of the first areas they address. The latest solutions not only streamline task management processes, but also improve communication and enable data-driven decision making, contributing to a more efficient and patient-centric hospital environment, and staff who have the tools they need to be efficient, responsive, and accountable.
The benefits, at a glance, include: n Improved efficiency: streamlines workflows, reduces
manual processes, and optimises resource allocation, leading to increased productivity.
n Enhanced communication: facilitates clear and timely communication among support staff, clinical teams, and other departments, minimising misunderstandings.
n Better response times: enables quicker response to urgent requests and issues through real-time task prioritisation and assignment.
n Increased visibility: provides a comprehensive overview of task status, workload distribution, and performance metrics, facilitating data-driven decision- making.
n Improved quality of care: ensures timely completion of critical support tasks, contributing to a smoother patient journey and improved patient outcomes.
n Cost reduction: optimises resource utilisation, reduces errors, and minimises waste, leading to cost savings.
n Compliance adherence: supports compliance with regulatory requirements through automated task management and audit trails.
n Data-driven insights: generates valuable data on task performance, allowing for process improvement and identification of bottlenecks.
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