Blackpool Teaching Hospitals announces go-live of new emergency department PAS

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with IMS Maxims’ patient administration system (PAS) in its emergency department.

The deployment sees the trust replace its current emergency department (ED) PAS – a Portuguese system called Alert – with IMS Maxims technology.

The trust said the go-live in December had already helped alleviate seasonal pressures on Blackpool Teaching Hospitals by enabling staff to track patients through the A&E department in real-time, allowing the hospital to better manage overall patient flow.

Meanwhile, patients are said to have benefitted from a speedier journey through A&E and better care as a result of clinicians being able to access relevant information for ongoing treatment.

Steven Bloor, chief information officer at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, said the deployment of the new PAS formed “the cornerstone for our wider digital ambitions,” which includes replacing the trust’s legacy PAS, IMS Hearts, with the suppliers’ latest solution.

Maxims technology will also be deployed in theatres, replacing CSC’s Ormis system.

Bloor said: “We want to surface information with the clinician where and when they need it, without having to access multiple systems.

“The ease of use and the flexibility of the system has been praised by users, and we are looking forward to having similar capabilities across the hospital as a whole.”

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals serves a population of approximately 440,000 residents across Blackpool, Fylde, Wyre, Lancashire and South Cumbria and the North of England.

The trust, which employs some 6,900 staff and manages some 350,000 outpatients and 90,000 A&E patients every year, recently lost fast follower status due to what was suspected to be a lack of available funding from NHS England.