CSC deploys first community PAS in Eastern cluster

Cambridgeshire PCT has become the first trust to receive an iSoft Community iPM system from Computer Sciences Corporation in the Eastern region of the NHS, formerly overseen by Accenture.

The system went live on 30 March in three sites, the Princess of Wales Hospital, Arthur Rank House and Brookfields Hospital, replacing their previous community system, Commwise. The initial implementation has focused on migrating to the new system and providing access to more users.

The trust says that amongst other benefits that the new iPM system will benefit both patients and staff. Doctors and Nurses will have access to the new system 24 hours a day which will mean that information is available whenever the patient needs care.

Cambridgeshire PCT’s service improvement manager, Anne Heath, told E-Health Insider: “We started working on this deployment with Accenture last summer, before they told us that they were not doing any more deployments. We then started working with CSC in September and are proud to day that we reached a smooth transition to go-live in just six months with their help.

“The system is now live with patient administration functions in three community hospitals and also in one hospice. The hospitals have very busy outpatients departments, and so with this system we will soon be able to book appointments directly on Choose and Book.”

CSC began training staff and migrating records six weeks ahead of go-live. Heath said that data migration was relatively simple with CSC working closely with PCT IT support at Anglia Support Services, to ensure a smooth and safe migration.

“We have now been able to train 100 users to use the new community PAS. Unlike Commwise, we can now offer access to the system from multiple locations, so we took the decision to train twice as many ward staff as before to achieve this on a modular based course,” Heath said.

All patient information will be stored in one place with enhanced security with the new system using chip and pin technology, aiming to bring less duplication of information and less paperwork, saving time for patients and staff.

Heath said: “The first stage of this deployment was more about replacing the Commwise system and providing access in more places. It will facilitate better note tracking for staff and letters can be generated straight from the system."

Heath added: "All staff have worked extremely hard to ensure the transition has gone smoothly. There were a few last minute hitches, and a couple of glitches since then but we were well prepared and were well looked after by CSC staff. We had floor trainers at each site and CSC were always on hand for support – we couldn’t have done it as well as we achieved without their assistance.”

The next step of the go-live is to link Choose and Book with the out-patients appointment scheduling for the PCT’s hospitals.

Heath said: "Directly bookable choose and book will be of huge benefit to the hospitals. We will be trialing it during the verification period over the next few weeks and we hope that we can extend the PAS to other PCT sites and link it to GP surgeries in the near future.”

CSC’s account executive in Cambridgeshire, Nick Drake, said: “This first of type community PAS implementation in the new geography was completed in record time and to schedule. This was achieved by working in partnership with the staff at Cambridgeshire PCT.”