Customer Solution Case Study
/ / Foundation Trust Set to Boost Patient Care with Content Management System
Overview
Country or Region:United Kingdom
Industry:Healthcare providers
Customer Profile
University Hospitals Bristol (UHBristol) National Health Service Foundation Trust is responsible for providing health services and medical training to people across the southwest of England.
Business Situation
With more than 7,000 employees across eight sites, the trust relies on technology for effective communication. Its intranet wasn’t used to its full potential.
Solution
UHBristol chose to implement a new content management system based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007, taking advantage of a government low-cost volume licensing agreement with Microsoft.
Benefits
More intuitive tools.
Improved communication.
Fast access to reliable information.
Reduced IT maintenance and support.
Improved service for the community. / “We needed to change the perception of information sharing, give staff easy access to vital documents, and improve communication among key groups.”
Chris Berrington, Information and Communications Technology Development Manager, University Hospitals Bristol
More than 7,000 employees at University Hospitals Bristol National Health Service Foundation Trust rely on technology to communicate across eight different sites. But its existing intranet was underused, proving a barrier to effective collaboration and knowledge transfer. Users required intensive training and it demanded dedicated support from the IT team. With a solution based on Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007, the trust is rolling out a new intranet where users can create sites and workgroups and edit content independently. Staff have faster access to up-to-date information, while the IT team saves eight hours per week, and has time for value-added tasks elsewhere. Improved collaboration and new tools, such as a Web part that integrates a real-time view of bed availability, mean the trust can make better-informed decisions that improve the quality of health services for the community it serves.
Situation
University Hospitals Bristol (UHBristol) NHS Foundation Trust is a leading provider of health services in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Serving a diverse population of 410,500, it provides more than 100 different clinical services from eight separate sites, and is the largest centre for medical training in the south west of England. Based on its clinical, governance, and financial strengths, the organisation gained coveted “Foundation Trust” status in June 2008, which devolves managerial and financial decision-making from central government to the local community.
The trust’s widespread operations and large, shift-based workforce rely on technology for efficient communication and collaboration across departments. To make informed decisions and deliver the best healthcare possible, staff need access to key strategies and timely information—be it the number of available beds to avoid bed blocking, or policy documents for meetings and decisionmaking. In addition, with its new Foundation Trust status, UHBristol is keen to meet internal performance targets at every level, from ward to senior management.
Previously, some departments used an intranet based on Microsoft® FrontPage® 2002 content management technology, but most employees sent e-mail messages with document attachments or used shared server folders, resulting in closed collaboration between those on the send list. Crucially, storing the messages required increasing server space, leading to higher operating costs and unnecessary work for the IT department. The IT team also had to support and control all content editing on the intranet, which demanded daily work and led to delays in uploading new content.
UHBristol wanted to transform the way employees used and shared information. Chris Berrington, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Systems Development Manager at UHBristol, says: “With the existing intranet, users simply uploaded content for colleagues to view. It was very one-directional. We needed to change the perception of information sharing, give staff easy access to vital documents, and improve communication tools for key groups.”
Furthermore, staff were naturally reluctant to use the intranet without acquiring specialist knowledge of HTML and Web development. It took up to three weeks to train a new user—time that a busy clinician, for example, just didn’t have. This meant information was infrequently updated, and was not always reliable. Berrington adds: “To attract more users, the new content management solution had to offer a rich and appealing environment that was easy to use.”
Berrington was also challenged with identifying a new structure for the system. Each department stored information using different hierarchies within a home-grown document management system, a formal policy repository, and on the public-facing Internet. Trawling through three separate systems to search for information was time-consuming. Berrington says: “Staff need policy and patient information quickly. And, critically, they need to know that they can rely on the accuracy of the information they find.”
Solution
UHBristol chose to implement a new intranet based on Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Microsoft® SQL Server® 2005 Enterprise Edition. Berrington says: “It integrates seamlessly with our IT environment, offers a huge set of new and intuitive tools, and is good value for money.” By using the existing Enterprise Agreement between Microsoft and the government, the trust did not need to purchase a licence for each user in the trust for the collaboration technology.
In mid-2007, the IT team—together with Microsoft—carried out a proof of concept and created a prototype based on a day in the life of a ward manager. Berrington says: “We demonstrated that, with quite minimal IT knowledge, the manager could distribute timely policy information among colleagues.” The team also engineered a Web Part that gives clinical staff a real-time view of patients on the ward, with access to personal details, recent test results, and a history of previous treatment.
The first stage of the intranet went live in January 2008 across eight locations, serving more than 5,000 employees. Using Enterprise Search, the team indexed remote sites so that users can search all data from a single point that unites its information repositories.
The current structure focuses on workspaces for the trust’s key decision-making groups. Employees in each group can access news, announcements, shared calendars, and information related to their specific roles. Owners of the portals can add and remove members to ensure the sites are kept up to date. Plus, integration with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 means workspace members can immediately view which members are online and contact them by instant messenger or telephone.
The IT department is expanding the system to include team workspaces so anyone can set up a portal and collaborate with colleagues. Beyond that, individual employees will be able to create a personalised My Site for storing and managing documents, Web links, and contacts.
Benefits
The new content management system has transformed the way information is shared and communicated across the trust. Staff can access centralised, reliable, up-to-date documents relevant to their field of work, and employees are creating working groups to collaborate with members on specific issues and projects.With faster access to the information they need, and improved communication throughout the workforce, key personnel can make better-informed decisions that improve the quality of patient service.
New Tools Engage More Hospital Users and Support Consistent Decision Making
For Nick Harvey, Clinical Liaison Project Manager at UHBristol, the intranet has revolutionised daily work. He examines processes across the trust, working with many different groups to determine best practice and increase efficiencies. “Before, managing multiple projects, and maintaining regular contact with people was difficult. Now, I can manage multiple projects, and share information with the right people at the right time,” he says.
One project—the Clinic Letter Pathway—aims to improve the way clinic letters are created and sent out to general practitioners. This involves communicating with up to 110 medical secretaries across eight hospitals. Previously, coordinating document transfer between individuals and groups of secretaries was time-consuming and difficult to manage. Harvey now has a group workspace for the project. “In just a few clicks, I added all the relevant people to the workgroup and could gather and send information with ease,” he says.
In addition, with Enterprise Search, staff can locate information faster. Berrington says: “You don’t need to know the structure of the system to find information. By uniting our key repositories, employees need to search in just one place. And crucially, search results display accurate and up-to-date information, making results far more reliable.”
The intranet is now attracting rapidly growing numbers of users whereas previously people avoided it. Harvey says: “Because it’s simple to set up and use, as well as being a reliable source of information, more clinicians are working with the system.” As more key decision-making groups—from senior management to ward level—establish workspaces, the trust will improve collaboration, and speed policy and process changes. This will result in faster, better-informed decisions regarding patient care, and have a positive impact on how the trust serves the wider community.
Unified Communications Improves Collaboration Between Staff
Berrington was struck by the seamless integration between Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Office Communications Server 2007. “The software fits beautifully with our new intranet. It took no effort to implement and started working immediately,” he says.
For a shift-based organisation that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, presence is a key tool. “We may not see colleagues for days at a time, and not know when they are next scheduled to work,” says Berrington. “An immediate view of whether someone is at their desk saves staff a lot of time.”
Within intranet workgroups, the trust is taking this to the next level. Harvey says: “While working on clinical projects, I have a complete view of specific group members and can instantly see who is available. As we become more oriented towards unified communications, I’ll be a click away from dialling a colleague’s number and speaking to him or her on the phone.” With instant contact, staff save valuable time and can collaborate more easily.
IT Team Saves Eight Hours a Week with Efficient Solution
The IT team has devolved responsibility for content editing to the individual users. Berrington says: “Site owners can set up and add content in a fraction of the time without any support. What’s more, members can clearly see who owns the site and can contact them directly without our involvement.” This will save Berrington and his team up to eight hours a week, significantly increasing the time they have available for value-added tasks elsewhere in the trust.
The new system servers also aid business continuity. “If we encounter a hardware failure overnight, we know the servers will prevent downtime until we arrive the next morning to address the issue,” explains Berrington.
Business Process Re-Engineering Will Improve Patient Care
Once deployed, a new Web Part will give clinical staff a live view of patients on their ward from within the intranet. With timely information on available beds, they can manage and allocate spaces more efficiently, helping to ensure that all patients are seen as quickly as possible and reduce bed blocking. In a few clicks, they can access a rich view of information about current treatment, test results, and patient history. Berrington says: “With these vital details in a centralised place, staff are equipped with more of the tools they need to deliver quality patient care.”
UHBristol will be extending the system to display relevant key performance indicators (KPI) within personalised sites. “For nurses, ward statistics on length of patient stay are vital. These will be displayed on their personal page, without them spending time looking for it,” explains Berrington.
Regular, updated KPIs will give employees a clearer idea of what the trust needs to achieve. Berrington says: “Our success depends on sharing and dealing with common objectives. With a clear view of ward, department, and trust goals, staff can focus on the issues that count, and address key areas to improve services across the trust.”
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