The Trust

Client: Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Industry: Public Health Sector

Services: Remote Working - Modern Workspace

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust provides hospital-based services from the main sites of Redditch, Kidderminster, and Worcester, which serve the Worcestershire county and surrounding areas. 

The Trust provides a wide range of essential services to over 580,000 people in Worcestershire and further afield with 6,000 employees and over 800 volunteers.

The Challenge

One of the most pivotal challenges faced by the Trust was procuring technology that would offer secure remote access that efficiently supports the needs of both patients and clinical staff. 

The Trust needed to replace an aged, out of support Microsoft UAG system that would enable medical staff to complete critical activities, from viewing and updating patient records to coding clinical data without being at the hospital. Prior to finding the right solution, staff had to rely on updating patient records when they were on-site, resulting in overtime and inflexible working. This situation cost both time and money, with the risk of information being delayed due to work not being updated in real-time.

The Trust needed a robust mobile solution that would grant access to real-time data, without the fear of security or governance issues, all the while supporting their complex application mix and staff in improving patient care.

The Solution

Altiatech recommended Modern Workspace, (powered by Awingu technology) as the solution to optimise and securely streamline the workflow of the Trust’s clinical and administrative staff.

Delivered as a managed service for the Trust, the Modern Workspace offers a cost-effective, feature-rich application and desktop-as-a-service solution. The Modern Workspace provides the Trust with everything they need to achieve secure remote access and mobility with significant cost savings. The Trust and Altiatech both recognised that broad access, security and simplicity for the end-user would be of extreme importance, and crucial to the success of the project. 

Because Modern Workspace technology is a scalable solution, an initial Proof of Concept was delivered and expanded out to other departments, including coding teams, pathology, radiology, nurses and general admin staff.

The Results

The surrounding NHS community in Worcestershire can now access the most up to date information at the point of care and record updates in real-time. With Modern Workspace empowering users to securely access data remotely, medical staff have been able to respond faster to critical requests, save time by reducing commuting and carry out administrative tasks.

The deployment of Modern Workspace technology delivers a secure solution that ensures all end-users and systems are fully protected. The Modern Workspace reduces the opportunity for cybercrime and removes the possibility of sensitive data being taken outside the Trust’s control. 

With staff no longer required to travel on-site to access the hospital's network, daily commutes, travel expenses and carbon emissions were all notably reduced. Less disruption from daily commutes also led to increased productivity and staff were able to create a better work life balance. 

With a team of 12+ midwives, it’s estimated the Trust has saved over £20,000 in travel expenses.

Key Benefits

Improved Patient Care:

• Care providers can share information and access patient data without visiting the Trust. Most importantly, as their patients’ circumstances change, their daily schedules are updated accordingly. 

• Specialist teams like pathology can work from home or other locations, increasing responsiveness and decreasing the time patients and care teams have to wait for results.

• Coding teams can now be located anywhere in the country and can work flexible hours to deliver a rapid service to the hospital.
  

Total Cost of Ownership and Direct Costs Reduced:

• Reductions in both licensing and operational costs, the Trust was able to significantly save on their budget. 

• Because staff were no longer required to travel to and from the Trust’s facilities, travel time and expenses were greatly reduced.

• With remote access possible, the Trust was able to source staff from a wider talent pool, increasing recruitment and retention.

Advanced Security: 

• No data sits on the end user device ensuring that even if the device is compromised or stolen, sensitive date stays secure.

• Because the Modern Workspace is integrated into present systems, all existing security controls continued to work without any changes. 

• Modern Workspace offers a secure and audited environment that helped the Trust become compliant with GDPR regulations.