Rotherham community get moving

Rotherham community clinicians have quicker and easier remote access to TPP’s SystmOne following the deployment of SafeMove.

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust has deployed Birdstep’s mobile virtual private network so that its community staff can access systems, update patient records and receive emails without having to return to base.

Paul Champan, the trust’s clinical systems engagement lead, told EHI that clinicians can do everything they would be able to within the trust on their mobile devices.

“We’re using it to support clinicians that are required to work out on locations away from the hospital such as district nurses who need to visit patients in their own homes. All of our clinicians get access to all the same applications and systems they would on a desktop in the hospital,” he said.

“We’ve replicated the log in process so it is exactly how it is on the desktop. It can be applied to any device.”

The trust deployed TPP’s community patient administration system in 2007, but the original mobile working software made logging on a long process, which often involved connectivity problems.

“The previous system was very complex and even just to get on to the internet staff would have to remember four different passwords, pins and login domains,” Chapman said.

“Our IT call desk received something like 2200 calls weekly from clinicians that had issues logging into the device and connectivity problems.”

“We’ve removed lot of steps. It’s a lot easier to use SystmOne and other systems whenever you need to,” he added.

The VPN was rolled out to community midwives in March this year and is now being deployed to all community staff.

The trust has also deployed 400 laptops to clinicians, giving them access to systems while out in the community as well as from their own home wi-fi.

The trust, which has struggled with its recent Meditech deployment, is using TPP’s SystmOne electronic patient record system in the community and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

The review of its Meditech EPR means the Rotherham also plans to implement SystmOne in A&E. However, recent board minutes from the trust suggest a final decision on this has yet to be made.