Waterside Medical Centre

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Empowering healthcare, how Fujitsu is helping

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Patient healthcare is evolving

Waterside Medical Centre is a new healthcare facility in Gosport, Hampshire. In recent years staff have been treating an increasing number of patients at the Centre’s Walk-in clinic. To improve service levels at the Walk-in facility, in January 2006 Fujitsu Services completed the roll out of a wireless network. The new network meant that the Centre could introduce mobile points of care, enable GPs and nurses to be more productive as well as ensuring that the Centre was better placed to meet its NHS access targets.

Like all UK GP surgeries, Waterside Medical Centre is challenged with improving access to primary healthcare in order to ease the burden on secondary healthcare providers such as Accident and Emergency departments. The cost difference between primary and secondary care is substantial. By improving service levels in primary care facilities, the NHS can save millions of pounds a year. As part of this plan, the 2000 NHS plan tasked all surgeries with improving the level of primary care offered to patients. Access to a primary care professional such as a nurse should be offered within 24 hours and a GP within 48 hours.

In order to meet the NHS 24 and 48 hour access targets, Waterside realised that it needed to transform its working practices. This project had two elements to it: the first being the delivery of a robust technology solution that would be simple to use, and adhere to strict NHS confidentiality guidelines. Secondly, the system needed to be presented in a way that focussed on patient care with new technologies enhancing interactivity, not hindering it.

Going mobile advances patient care

Waterside Medical Centre treats around 250 patients a day. In order to address the issue of patients turning up unannounced for treatment, the Centre set up a Walk-in Clinic that runs in parallel to routine GP and nurse appointments. The Walk-in Clinic treats up to 100 people a day, each needing to be seen within the agreed NHS access targets.

“The Walk-in Centre is an invaluable part of the healthcare that we offer to local patients and plays a key role in helping us meet the NHS access targets. Working with Fujitsu has enabled us to enhance the service experienced by patients.” Dr Lester Russell, GP,Waterside Medical Centre and Chief Medical Officer for Fujitsu Services .

To maintain confidentiality, yet increase access, patients are seen in individual cubicles which do not have the full complement of IT facilities. This meant clinical staff accessed patient data by using computers in a central triage station. Clinical and medical staff had to move between patient and PC to access and enter data. Not only was this highly time consuming but it also had the potential to impact the accuracy of the patients records, as they are best filled in whilst a patient is being seen.

One of the GPs at the Medical Centre, Dr Lester Russell, realised that an innovative use of IT could solve the Centre’s problems. It was therefore identified that the Walk-in Centre required a solution that could:

• Make treating patients less time consuming
• Streamline the process of recording Walk-in patient records
• Adhere to strict security guidelines to ensure that patient confidentiality wasn’t compromised
• Be easy for staff to use

The right solution came from Fujitsu Services who, in January 2006, completed the rollout of a wireless LAN at the Walk-in Centre. The new network connects Fujitsu Siemens Computers Tablet PCs, powered by Intel® Centrino® mobile technology, to the surgery’s Dell PowerEdge 2800 server. This server in turn powers the Centre’s clinical care system, Vision from In Practice Systems.

Vision contains a complete picture of a patient’s healthcare record, meaning that GPs and nurses on duty at the Walk-in Centre are able to access and update the system via the Tablet PCs at the point of care. All records are updated in real time, so for instance if a GP prescribes a particular course of treatment, other staff on duty will know instantly.

Due to the Centre’s close proximity to a residential area, it was vital that the network was secure to protect patient confidentiality. This was addressed by:

• Installing a Microsoft ISA 2004 firewall between the Centre’s existing LAN and Cisco wireless access points fitted in the ceiling
• Wireless access points were configured so that the server can only be accessed in the surgery
• Security features embedded into the Tablet PCs, making connecting with the wireless LAN without the required certification, service set identifier (SSID) and wireless user name and password impossible

As these features are embedded, they are easy for staff to navigate. Ease of use was vital for the system to be utilised and accepted by staff. Initial training was given and refresher courses are constantly on offer. The technical support available has played a key role in staff getting on board with the new technology.

The solution has been future-proofed to work with NHS Smartcards, which already provide access to the NHS Data Spine and Choose and Book referrals and will be followed by Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions and the National Care Record Service as they are rolled out over the next few years.

The time savings experienced through the implementation at the Centre means that it is possible for staff to treat on average 25% more patients per surgery, making it easier for the Centre to achieve its NHS access targets.

Eventually it is hoped that that every GP and nurse at the surgery will have their own mobile device, which would enable them to treat more patients in ‘different locations of care,’ for example at home or at hospital. This provides staff with increased flexibility, giving them more face-to-face time with patients.

In order to make this vision a reality, Waterside Medical Centre, together with Fujitsu Services, are investigating secure access to wireless devices outside of the surgery in line with NHS Connecting for Health standards. By helping the Centre to realise its ambition of becoming a paperless surgery by 2008, Fujitsu Services is helping to put Waterside firmly at the forefront of technology innovation within the NHS.