Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust deploys e-prescribing tool

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with a new e-prescribing system which aims to increase efficiency across adult inpatient areas and improve patient safety.

The implementation of System C’s CareFlow Medicines Management system means staff at Barnsley can use the new digital tool to chart drugs, complete rounds and administer medications. It removes the issue of the potential illegibility of paper prescriptions, which is freeing up staff time and minimising the risk of errors.

Staff no longer need to re-enter prescription information at patient discharge, as the system automatically fills in what medication is required. This information is then available to downloaded straight from the CareFlow Medicines Management system.

Richard Billam, deputy director of ICT at Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “The roll-out is progressing well and we’ve had some great feedback. By lunchtime on the day of go-live we had our first colleague tell us we could go, and they would be okay on their own using the system.”

The system is fully integrated with the trust’s CareFlow EPR. Clinical staff are able to view a patient’s entire drug chart on one screen, with patient histories available at a keystroke. It also supports faster transfer of care between teams as the electronic information moves with the patient as they switch departments.

Nick Wilson, CEO of System C, said: “I’m delighted with how we have implemented CMM, integrated into the Trust’s CareFlow EPR and gone live in a record four months. It’s an amazing achievement by our Trust colleagues and the System C team.”

The roll out was supported by local university students who are on clinical placement with the trust. This initiative was set up to inspire and engage a digital-focused workforce for the future.

Stacey Hatton, Barnsley chief nursing information officer, said of the scheme: “Students have said that they want to be involved in the digital agenda and they are very excited about being part of Barnsley’s transformation programme and helping to unlock the benefits it offers.

“As students towards the completion of their studies, they acknowledged that being part of this will allow them to understand the system more. The students have been a fantastic addition to the team, and we intend to run the placement programme for future projects.”

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is also working with System C – and other partners – for an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS) project which started September last year.