Luton builds firm mobile foundations

Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is looking to implement an electronic observation system with money it received from ITK funding.

The trust, which currently uses Tactix4’s open source nursing system, Wardware, will use the funding to work with National Early Warning Score support for the system.

The trust hopes it will result in medical teams having easier access to patient observations.

Luton and Dunstable’s head of IT, Jill Lanham told eHealth Insider she was confident they would meet the March deadline for the ITK projects.

The Wardware application is being used on iPads and iTouch devices by nurses, who can record blood pressure, look at patient charts and record vital signs on the device.

Lanham said it had a direct impact on patient care: “It helps the clinicians to know where they should focus their attention.

“It gives people the information where they need it. It can be used at the bedside, but also in remote settings. As far as patient care is concerned, it’s a more efficient and better quality service.”

The trust recently announced that it has decided to use Airwatch Mobile Device Management for security on its devices.

MDM enables organisations to manage large-scale deployments of mobile devices, update them, configure them in different ways, and enforce compliance with different policies. It can also be used to remotely lock and wipe managed devices, if they are lost or stolen.

Lanham said the trust had yet to experience any problems with handheld devices going missing or information ending up in the wrong hands, but the system gave the trust more control over its mobile estate.

MDM can be used for many different devices. At the moment, Luton and Dunstable is using iPads and iTouch on the wards, but Lanham said it was interested in exploring other options.

“Microsoft Surface coming out is really going to open up the market. We’re going down a Microsoft road in other areas so it’s starting to become a debate.”

Luton and Dunstable is also looking to expand its use of technology: “We’re moving to scanned patient notes and an electronic e-prescribing project, which is at contract signing point at the moment. We’ve gone for a “best of breed” approach to link it all across.”

Lanham said the goal was “to give us more mobility and moving more and more to using mobile devices. The health market has a definite need for it.”

The trust is also looking to embark on a BYOD programme, but Lanham said the trust is still looking at how: “We’re trying to get to the point of getting the governance started for that.”