A Bleep communication system is currently being utilised at The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust (DGFT). However, in 2019 the then Health Secretary called for the phasing out of this method of communication. Modern technology facilitates the need for team-based communication, image facilitation, and task assignment. Bleeps on the other hand require medics to seek out landline phones to then go through a switch board and manually telephone everyone involved which negatively impacts efficient clinical care. In line with our Digital and People Plans, a new communication solution is needed to improve productivity.
To achieve digital maturity, modern clinical communication solutions is a key element to ensure that there is a sustainable patient flow through the treatment process. Improving the flow of patients is in line with a key strategic objective of ensuring patient care. As a result of the recent pandemic, there is now a significant backlog of patients across clinical domains, meaning that ensuring there is adequate communication and flow is essential to ensure the Trust meets clinical demands.
DGFT wish to embark on a programme of work to deliver enhancements to our clinical communication methodologies which will underpin the efficient flow of patients between clinical teams. A partner is required to provide a full end-to-end set of professional in-house Project Services relating to Modern Clinical Communication and offer insight expertise into linking this with the current digital infrastructure at DGFT.
The Trust is looking for a third-party partner to deliver:
• A modern clinical communications platform which allows for ease of communication between staff
• Intuitive user interface and good user experience, requiring limited training to fully understand functionality.
• Be able to be utilised on several devices, whether this be mobile phone, tablet, or PC.
The Trust are suggesting the number of user licenses to be circa 2000 initially, with potential commitment to scale to as high as 5000 in the future.