Nottingham University hospitals NHS trust goes live with new electronic pre-operative process

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is driving forward its digital strategy by going live with a new electronic pre-operative process using Bluespier’s Fit For Surgery software.

The new electronic approach to pre-operative assessments is initially being used for colorectal patients as part of a phased roll-out period. The gynaecology department is set to adopt the new process in the summer with a wider Trust-wide roll out completed later in the autumn.

Pre-operative assessments for colorectal patients are now completed electronically by clinical staff in a paperless environment, with each patient’s Fit For Surgery status marked clearly within the system. These results are immediately visible to all relevant clinical teams through the care pathway via integration with Bluespier Theatres and the Trust’s EPR, Medway, creating a streamlined pre-op to theatre journey.

Stuart van Rooyen, Managing Director of Bluespier, said: “We are delighted for the Trust for this great step in their pre-operative process. This electronic approach will ensure all clinicians involved in the end-to-end theatre process have exactly the information they need at the right time, and will significantly benefit patients too.”

“We achieved a completely virtual Go Live of the colorectal department, including training and technical deployment, ensuring the Trust could deliver to their strict timescales whilst removing the need for onsite visits. This was a real success and an example of excellent communication, project management and comradery between both teams in a very challenging time for the NHS.

“We are proud to be ongoing software partners with Nottingham and look forward to continuing the roll out of this project over 2020.”

Lisa Lawrence, Head of Digital Products at NUH said “The go-live in Colorectal went incredibly smoothly given the significant challenges presented by Covid 19 and the need to deliver much of the support virtually. “

“Moving to an electronic pre-operative assessment has always been a key part of our Digital Strategy at NUH. The challenges posed by the pandemic have actually helped us to realise the benefits of moving towards an electronic system more quickly. A fully electronic process also supports the delivery of care offsite within local private provider premises, which enables clinical teams to review completed assessments from outside the clinical environment when necessary.

Electronic pre-operative assessment functionality also gives us visibility of where a patient is in the pathway – known as ‘Status at a Glance’. Staff can pre-populate information from existing systems, which is more efficient and improves patient safety. Staff also have the ability to pre-screen and stream patients ensuring that each patient receives the appropriate level of pre-op. There are prompts to support correct decision making by staff, thus benefiting patients.

We are looking forward to rolling out more widely over the coming months”.

About Bluespier:

Bluespier develops leading clinical systems for the NHS and private healthcare sector, helping healthcare providers deliver the best, cost effective patient care by utilising innovative technology. It specialises in software that supports theatres, trauma, pre-op, virtual clinics, anaesthetics and stock management.

Bluespier is part of the Clanwilliam Group. Clanwilliam Group is a collective of businesses using digital technology to connect people, processes and data globally to help achieve better patient outcomes.