Mental Health Places Strain on NHS

Debbie Williams

Blog, Wednesday 17th June 2009

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A new report has been released today stating that the care for those with dementia and other mental health related illnesses are receiving an unacceptable level of care. The Prepared to Care report argues that training, regulation and pay need to be improved.

The fault within the Mental Health care system could be due to the increasing amount of cases that are now falling on the NHS. At present there are approximately 700,000 people in Britain with some form of memory loss and this figure is expected to more than double to 1.7 million by 2051.

To ensure the situation does not worsen, it is vital the NHS takes control of its information to guarantee it is accurate up-to-date. Tools such as Ardentia’s Mental Health solution provide trusts with a highly focused management tool that enables them to make decisions based on reliable information and not just intuition, to improve the quality of care delivery.

By providing access to data over the Web trusts can ensure that all managers, at whatever level, are able to see the reports they need to do their job, whenever they need them. The fact that the data that is used as the basis of the reports is as current and up-to-date as it can be means that all managers can make decisions based on the most reliable possible information.

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Southern trusts still waiting for IT upgrade

Debbie Williams

Blog, Tuesday 12th May 2009

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In the past couple of weeks it has come to light that trusts in the south are still waiting for IT upgrades following the ending of the Fujitsu contract last year. Although BT has taken over the upgrade for some trusts, others have opted for alternative options.

Heatherwood and Wexham Park is one trust that has rejected NPfIT and opted for a solution from iSoft rather than waiting for the PAS update through NPfIT.

It was suggested at the time of the contract termination that it may cause uncertainty and delays to some healthcare IT projects, which would pose serious issues for trusts trying to meet national reporting and management requirements.

Solutions such as Ardentia’s Pathway Manager offer a much needed alternative for trusts within the southern cluster, as it gives staff a prospective view of waiting times rather than a retrospective view, enabling them to resolve any issues well within the 18-week time frame, to ensure timely access to care.

The Referral to Treatment module of Pathway Manager, which has been developed with support from Microsoft, simplifies and streamlines the management of patient pathways, identifying key event stages and calculating waiting times, giving clinicians access to the data they need to make informed decisions and ensure timely and effective care.

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Keeping Mental Health in Order

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 6th March 2009

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This week, Britain’s highest-decorated soldier criticised the NHS for its inability to help ex-servicemen with mental health problems. But with the government already feeling the pressure of increased cases of mental health, what can Trusts do to help minimise these issues?

Software like Ardentia’s Mental Health Information solution can really make a difference by providing a highly-focused management tool that enables Trusts to make decisions based on reliable information and not just intuition, making it an essential component to improve the quality of care delivery.

Community activity gives a view of how well services are being dispensed by nurses, therapists, dieticians, etc, monitoring the workload of care teams as well as the individuals in those teams. Review records also provide regular snapshots of patients who have had or are awaiting review, ensuring that cases are being properly monitored and that none accidentally ‘slip under the radar’.

Developed in partnership with other Mental Health Trusts, the solution provides access to data across the Web you can ensure that all your managers, at whatever level, are able to see the reports they need to do their job, whenever they need them. The fact that the data that is used as the basis of the reports is as current and up-to-date as it can be means that all managers are making decisions based on the most reliable possible information.

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Uncertainty in the South

Debbie Williams

Blog, Tuesday 24th February 2009

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Last week, in came to light that Worthing and Southlands Hospitals NHS Trust had made the decision to switch off its Cerner Millennium records software and is moving back its old Sema-Helix software.

The switch follows the termination of Fujitsu’s LSP contract in the South and South West last year, and raises further questions about the impact of the termination, and how Trusts are coping.

At the time, Ardentia stated that the termination could introduce uncertainty and delays to healthcare IT projects being carried out in the region, warning that computer programs that were not fully up and running at the time of the termination would be those most at risk. We must ask the question, has Worthing and Southlands been a victim of this change and uncertainty within NPfIT?

To avoid similar situations, Trusts in the South – and indeed across the country – must be sure they have the correct processes and systems in place to ensure access to essential information and allow a better flow of patients, enabling managers and clinicians to plan and manage their workloads more effectively and deliver an improved level of service.

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From Cotton to Care: Manchester continues to lead the world

Debbie Williams

Blog, Friday 13th February 2009

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As every proud Mancunian will no doubt tell you, since the beginnings of the Industrial revolution, Manchester’s innovative spirit has seen it at the vanguard of free trade, leading the political and economic reform of the 19th century, and founding the first passenger railway and first public library.

More recently, NHS Manchester’s commitment to improving healthcare delivery and patient outcomes has resulted in the deployment of an advanced business intelligence solution to help ensure world-class care for its patients, as reported in E Health Insider.

Our Data Warehouse and Patient Level Costing solutions are being deployed across its commissioning and provisioning functions to reduce risk to clinical and PCT data and enable healthcare managers to make quick and informed decisions, and ensure timely patient progress and access to care.

Paul McQuaid, project manager at NHS Manchester said: “The combination of these solutions will be crucial to the development of the organisation. They will allow our staff to drill down to obtain valuable patient data, rather than spending time processing documents.

“With a population of 500,000 and approximately 1000 GP referrals each week, we need the right tools to help deal effectively with business issues and meet our goals – Ardentia solutions make this possible for us.”

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Managing the New Dementia Strategy

Debbie Williams

Blog, Tuesday 3rd February 2009

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The Government’s new strategy to combat dementia has been unveiled today, putting the spotlight firmly on mental health, and on providing early diagnosis and intervention, to ensure more effective care.

Clinics will be set up in every English town and doctors will get extra training to recognise early signs of the condition, which affects some 700,000 people in the UK – a figure that looks set to double in the next 30 years – and it is predicted that by the next generation dementia could cost the economy £50bn a year.

With an increase in cases of dementia and steps being taken to diagnose the condition earlier, there will inevitably be an increase in patient data being recorded, which needs to be effectively managed in addition to the large quantities of information held by Trusts about inpatient and outpatient activity, referrals and community care contacts.

The Ardentia Mental Health solution brings together all these different sources of information to support a single reporting and analysis system. It provides Trusts with a highly focused management tool that enables them to make decisions based on reliable information and not just intuition, making it an essential component of their work to improve the quality of care delivery.

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