Staff working at Yeovil District Hospital are receiving information feeds from the Dorset Care Record for the first time.
Previously, Yeovil – which takes 30-40% of their emergency admissions from Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) patients – has been unable to access the shared record which electronically brings together health and social care information.
However due to the spread of Covid-19, the work was fast-tracked to allow up to 150 clinicians and staff to access the GP records of Dorset patients they are providing care for, resulting in less wasted time. In the past, clinicians at the hospital had to telephone Dorset GPs to gather this information.
Deputy chief medical officer at Yeovil Hospital, Paul Foster, said: “Being located so close to the Dorset border means, inevitably, a large number of patients come from outside of Somerset.
“This can create challenges so it is great to be able to overcome these and provide a more enhanced, joined-up approach with our Dorset healthcare colleagues, with the patients’ needs at the centre of all we do.”
This latest development marks the first time the record, which is powered by Orion Health, has been made available to a hospital outside of the county.
Peter Gill, Dorset Care Record senior responsible officer, said: “I am delighted we have been able to ensure that the Dorset Care Record is now available to emergency department and other key clinicians at Yeovil Hospital.
“It is vital that staff have the most up to date patient records when tackling coronavirus cases. By having the Dorset Care Record, it provides staff with additional patient information – data really does save lives.”