In4tek has been working under contract with local service provider CSC to deliver its Paris application software to two mental health foundation trusts as an “interim” solution.
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys and Leeds Partnerships NHS foundation trusts had an urgent need for new IT systems to meet the business requirements associated with foundation status.
In4tek account manager Ed Claridge told E-Health Insider: "The trusts needed to deploy something sooner than could be deployed through the National Programme [for IT in the NHS], so they went to NHS Connecting for Health and said that.
“The trusts had done their research and put together an outline business specification for mental health, tied back to the national OBS. So CfH negotiated with CSC to deliver Paris as an interim solution.”
The trusts also visited Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, where Paris is being used for mental health and support services, and Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, where it is being used across community, mental health and social services.
“One of the key things for the Tees and Leeds trusts was that did not want something that was in development, they wanted something that was ready,” said Claridge, who worked closely on the project.
“That led to Paris 3.4, meaning tried and tested somewhere else. Even then, the two trusts are different in the way they work, so we had to configure system to meet their needs.”
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys has more than 4,000 staff, having been formed from a merger of two existing mental health organisations. Leeds is smaller, with just over 2,000 staff, but provides more specialist services. The implementation at the two trusts therefore covers a wide range of service delivery environments and services, from learning disabilities to eating disorders.
The trusts were able to configure different referral intake models for different services, trust-specific CPA assessments and other ways of working. A library of more than 30 referral types, 200 assessments and 1,000 letters or user defined forms and statutory and local reports has been created.
Both trusts are now deploying in five cohorts, of which three have been completed to date. More than 4,500 staff from more than 600 care teams will have been trained in the use of Paris by January. Eventually, it will be accessed over N3 from more than 200 locations on a fully hosted computer service.
In4tek says it now has a catalogue of resources and contacts that will help other trusts looking for a single, integrated mental health solution. “We have got a deployment model,” says Claridge. “We have got a product that works and is deployable, although it is interim unless and until the situation with the strategic systems changes.”
Link: In4tek