Bedfordshire and Luton opt for CareNotes system

Bedfordshire and Luton Mental Health and Social Care Partnership NHS Trust has signed up to use Strand Technology’s CareNotes electronic care record solution.

Lizzy Smith, from the community and mental health (CAMH) services at Bedfordshire and Luton, said: “This solution will help us continue to make the best use of new technology and will make a big difference to the service. At the moment we are running two separate databases. CareNotes will allow us to bring all of the data together into one solution and improve our efficiency.”

David Hannam, sales director of Strand Technology, said: “This is a very significant contract for us. The feedback we have had is that the trust’s project team was impressed with CareNotes, our presentation and reference sites.

“Bedfordshire and Luton needed a solution that would be able to handle the large volume of complex cases associated with a community and mental health service. CareNotes already has a proven track record within the NHS and will unlock huge benefits in delivering care.”

The company is working with the trust to roll out CareNotes as quickly as possible. It is expected to be in use within three months.

The solution has also been developed in line with the CAMHs Outcomes Research Consortium (CORC) requirements – an NHS group charged with improving services for children with mental health problems.

CareNotes provides CORC outcomes measuring, and helps create reports to ensure trusts keep up with new guidelines from government and within the NHS itself.

CareNotes will be deployed to all users via the NHSnet, with users accessing CareNotes through Microsoft Explorer; no CareNotes software being installed locally. The contract also involves full and detailed staff training and software development specific to Bedfordshire and Luton MHSCP.