University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust is to deploy ExtraMed’s Patient Flow at another one of its sites following a successful roll-out at Royal Derby Hospital.
The solution was initially introduced at Royal Derby Hospital in 2013 where healthcare professionals were able to reduce the length of hospital stays and deliver enhanced patient care. Its success meant it was then extended to GPs, social care and community nursing in 2017.
Now ExtraMed’s Patient Flow system will be implemented at the trust’s Queen’s Hospital Burton to help clinicians efficiently manage patient flow, avoid discharge delays and free up capacity for more patients.
The system will enable clinicians to see an actionable, real-time visibility of patient flow so that they can better manage the patient journey. It will replace the current system of whiteboards and manual processes for an intuitive digital solution which aims to support informed decision making.
Gill Ogden, director of nursing at the trust, said: “Clinical teams at Royal Derby Hospital have really valued having information at a glance, and improved communication that ExtraMed has supported. Nurses on wards in Burton will too be able to quickly see what is happening with the patient, and what needs to happen to prevent delays in patients going home. That’s the right thing for many reasons. We operate a very busy hospital, and we need to free up space for patients coming in. And when patients stay in hospital for longer than they need, that isn’t good for them”.
The information can be accessed by ward staff, hospital-wide teams and senior leaders. Not only does this help support joined-up care but it also means staff can identify how to manage resources effectively.
Ogden added: “Beyond staff on individual wards, bed managers can quickly identify available beds. And as a senior nurse, if I do a ward walk, I will look at ExtraMed to see which patients have a longer length of stay and ask colleagues about those patients, so I can understand why delays are happening – whether that’s because hospital is the right place for a complex patient, or if there are delays in the healthcare system that we can do something about.
“Teams like pharmacy and physiotherapy that work across wards can see where their patients are with ease. The discharge team can see which patients are medically fit for discharge and make necessary arrangements both within the hospital, and for more complex discharges, with social services, for example.”
Susan Say, managing director of ExtraMed – which was acquired by Alcidion in April 2021, added: “We have worked closely with the trust to support its vision to have a technically advanced environment and build on its achievements. Investment in healthcare technology was a key driver of the trust plans to support improved patient care. I look forward to seeing the benefits transferred to staff and patients in Burton.”