The service developed mobile technology for its entire emergency fleet of over 600 vehicles using GPRS connectivity. Cab-based technology involves each vehicle having two units: a front unit with sat nav and incident management and a rear unit with a purpose-designed electronic health record. This links to the clinical database, auto-updates as required, and transmits the record electronically to receiving clinicians. Clinical reporting is now paper-free, and the unit is a hub for connection to other clinical devices.
By combining a trust-wide wireless network, reliable mobile devices and easy-to-use, safe software, this project has provided access to major clinical systems at the bedside, during ward and drug rounds. This has helped the trust to reach its long term goal of implementing e-prescribing and medicines administration to minimise the amount of paper used in the care of patients.
The NUH ICT team has aligned targeted IT solutions to meet the requirements of the trust's 'Better for You' whole hospital change programme. A location ready WiFi network has been deployed, together with WiFi and fixed unified communications and a clinical messaging platform. Phones were intelligently deployed offering role-based and individual profiles, so that staff can be contacted according to skill, availability or name. The deployment formed the basis of the well-publicised study for the European Union "Collaboration and communication technology at the heart of hospital transformation".
iNurse allows community teams to work more efficiently and safely by allowing them to receive and send case information via hand-held devices - eliminating the need for travel or telephone calls. This system increases efficiency, thereby allowing more time for patients. Following highly successful pilots, iNurse is now being rolled out nationally.