•Tablet devices with secure access to systems from Vodafone UK will help the Trust’s community domiciliary clinicians save up to an hour a day on admin and travel time
•Community services staff will be able to provide a better level of patient care with reliable, secure access to information on the go and from patients’ homes
•Vodafone’s innovative and secure solution meets Connecting for Health standards and supports the Trust to find better ways of working for its clinicians
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Vodafone UK have announced that 400 of the Trust’s Community Services staff will be equipped with mobile tablet devices to securely access patient records, corporate email and information at point of care.
The roll out comes after a successful pilot indicated staff could save up to an hour a day in reduced travel and administration using the devices and highlighted how patient care could also be improved. Following the roll out of the 400 devices, the Trust also plans to expand the scope to include the rest of its 900 community-based clinicians across Blackpool and North Lancashire.
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for providing health services to more than 150,000 patients across Blackpool, including providing care in patients’ homes, so it is crucial that ancillary staff have access to information wherever they are.
Community staff currently take paper case notes and documents to and from appointments and return to the office to collect, drop off and complete paperwork, taking up valuable time that could be spent with patients.
Working in partnership with Blackpool, Vodafone provided a secure and reliable mobile connection as well as tablet devices that best suit the type of information being sent and received. The solution also meets Connecting for Health standards.
Changes to the way community staff access and record information will mean that clinicians are able to work more efficiently and no longer need to travel back to the office to complete administration or pick up paper records. Clinicians who were part of the trial immediately saw the benefits. One clinician in the trial stated: “It will keep nurses field-based and make us more ‘lean’.”