Global Digital Exemplar Somerset NHS Foundation Trust makes move to phase out pagers and paper
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (SFT) has gone live with Infinity Health’s digital task management solution to make prioritising tasks easier and safer for staff, and improve the efficiency of care coordination for the Out of Hours team at Musgrove Park Hospital. Infinity will be rolled out across the hospital Out Of Hours team covering adult Medical and Surgical in-patient wards.
Out of Hours Coordinator Matthew Beebee is one of the staff members at Somerset Foundation Trust using Infinity to make their workload more manageable
Introducing Infinity’s task management platform means that ward staff can move away from using bleeps to contact the out of hours team at SFT. Bleeps are known to be inefficient, cause interruption in patient care, and disrupt workflows*. Instead, nurses and other ward staff now phone requests for the out of hours team to a coordinator, who logs them on Infinity’s digital “to-do” list (pictured below) instead of using a spreadsheet. Staff from the out of hours team can then log on and easily see the tasks they have been allocated in their own task list, and in what location, removing the need to the need to respond to bleeps which can be time consuming.
Out of hours staff can also mark tasks as “accepted”, “in progress”, or “complete” in real-time during their shift, so ward staff can see the status of tasks in real time, and don't need to spend time chasing colleagues.
“I find using the Infinity system hugely beneficial in allocating tasks to doctors in a timely manner. Being able to add a task immediately to Infinity after receiving a call from the wards, and not needing to wait for a doctor to reply to my bleep makes the workload much more manageable.”
— Matthew Beebee
Out of Hours Coordinator, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
“Working with Infinity Health has helped us to improve how patient related tasks can be allocated, accepted, and tracked at the touch of a button. This has reduced interruptions from bleeps, releasing time back to doctors, and contributing to a safer, less stressful working environment during the night.”
“Senior colleagues at the trust are able to gain a better understanding of what’s happening across the hospital, meaning they can more effectively support our junior doctors with team working and ensuring they have more time to take breaks.”
“Infinity Health is part of a fantastic change for our night services, and we are delighted with the support it has given to our teams.”
— Dr Luke Gompels
Chief Clinical Information Officer, Somerset NHS Foundation Trust
Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is a Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) - one of the NHS’s internationally recognised providers using world-class digital technologies. Other trusts are expected to follow in the footsteps of GDEs, following “blueprints” and learning from their experiences to improve their own services.
“Out of hours teams are always under intense pressure, having to balance multiple priorities and make split-second decisions in a skeleton team covering huge numbers of patients. It is therefore absolutely critical that they have the best tools to coordinate and prioritise care in the safest and most efficient way. This project provides exactly that, at a time where the NHS is under an enormous amount of pressure due to COVID-19.”
“Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is one of a few pioneering NHS organisations making the shift to digital task management. The leadership team have a strong vision and we’re excited to play our part in delivering it. This project will give valuable time back to staff - so they can continue to provide the fantastic service patients rely on.”
— Elliott Engers
CEO, Infinity Health
Notes to Editors
*Sin F. et al (2016). The effects of bleeps on medical on-call doctors’ workflow and work efficiency. Future Healthcare Journal, June 6 (suppl 2), pg 77
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has nine sites: Musgrove Park Hospital, Bridgwater Hospital, Frome Community Hospital, Minehead Community Hospital, Shepton Mallet Community Hospital, South Petherton Community Hospital, Wellesley Hospital, Wincanton Community Hospital, Yeatman Hospital
