Seven hospital sites from the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have gone live with electronic observations in a bid to improve patient care.
System C’s CareFlow e-observation system was fast-tracked from its pilot as a result of the Covid pandemic – its use meant that important clinical information was available to doctors and nurses without the need to be bed-side and so reducing the need for repeated PPE changes.
Replacing the traditional pen and paper charts kept at the end of hospital beds, staff are now using iPad Minis and iPads to track this information.
The new system is anticipated to cut the length of time each complete set of observations takes and minimise the risk of recording errors. It is also expected to speed up the identification of patients whose condition is deteriorating so specialist care can be delivered promptly.
Dr Stephen Edwards, deputy medical director at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said: “The system allows us to identify and care for deteriorating patients on our wards and we now have a real-time bed state to support patient flow management across our hospitals.”
Additionally the CareFlow Connect system is being used in critical care at Nevill Hall Hospital to facilitate the handover of patients while maintaining social distancing. It has also enabled nurses to access ‘patient status’ information so that family members can be given daily patient updates.
The ability to closely track patients’ vital signs can lead to reduced hospital stays and improved outcomes for visitors.
In the first month alone of using the new software, it was used to complete 45,000 observations on more than 2,250 patients and is now live across 90 wards.
Aneurin Bevan is now rolling out clinical task management and further handover functionality as part of its wider initiative to co-ordinate care, improve patient safety and keen staff safe.
You can hear more from Dr Edwards and his team at an upcoming Digital Health Webinar which is taking place on Friday (June 18).
The webinar will be discussing how Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in South East Wale deployed System C’s CareFlow Vitals e-observations on 90 inpatient wards across 10 hospitals.