NELFT (North East London Foundation Trust), an integrated community and mental health services provider with 6,000 staff has reduced turnaround times for reporting incidents into the National Reporting & Learning System (NRLS), the central NHS database for patient safety reporting, with the help of Datix patient safety software.

Bridget Tustin, Head of Risk Assurance at NELFT said, “At the end of 2014 the time had come to re-evaluate our approach to NRLS reporting.  Attending an external NRLS presentation to learn more about how other trusts were operating provided the catalyst for change, making us sit up and take full responsibility for improving our own NRLS reporting mechanism.  Since then, we have combined strong leadership skills supported by the process-driven benefits of the Datix solution to implement change.  The results make for a real success story that has fostered a sense of accountability among staff and has dramatically reduced our NRLS turnaround times from an average of over 100 days to just six or seven days.”

NELFT has continued to use Datix software during major organisational changes over the last five years to manage and drive improvements in patient safety.  Today, it relies on Datix to learn from incidents, complaints and claims as well as manage risks, safety alerts and patient experience.

Bridget Tustin continued, “Over the years, Datix has evolved from a simple technology-driven solution used to record incidents, to a powerful source of data and a way to spot trends to help improve patient safety in a highly measurable way.  What is more, it enables us to promptly report to the NRLS.”

Next on the horizon is fulfilling the potential of the Datix solution by linking it to NELFT’s Electronic Patient Records system.  This means that clinicians will no longer have to enter the same information twice into two separate systems. NELFT anticipates this development will have a positive impact in terms of time saved and patient safety.

Jonathan Hazan, Director, Datix, concluded, “NHS organisations like NELFT face repeated changes in the structure of the NHS while continuing to improve patient outcomes.  Our software seamlessly links the management of incidents, risks, complaints and claims to maximise learning as organisations evolve.  NELFT is a good example of how the combination of people, process and technology can yield efficiencies and foster a strong safety culture that creates a safer environment for patients and staff alike.”

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About NELFT
NELFT (North East London Foundation Trust) provides an extensive range of integrated community and mental health services for people living in the London boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest and community health services for people living in parts of Essex. It also provides an Emotional Wellbeing Mental Health Service for children and young people across the whole of Essex.

With an annual budget of £350 million, NELFT provides care and treatment for a population of around 2.8 million and employs approximately 6,000 staff.

For more information, please visit www.nelft.nhs.uk 

About Datix

Datix has been a global pioneer in the field of patient safety over the past three decades and today is the leading provider of software for patient safety, risk management and incident reporting for the health care sector.

Datix aims to build and promote a culture of safety within healthcare organisations, recruiting professionals who are passionate about improving healthcare and championing technological innovation. Datix continually invests in its software and services maintaining a leadership position at the forefront of the worldwide patient safety movement.

 

Datix is focused on the health and social care sector. Its customers include public and private hospitals, primary care providers, GP surgeries, mental health and ambulance service providers. Within the UK this includes more than 75% of the National Health Service. Internationally the Datix client base is growing rapidly and includes large scale deployments in Canada and the USA as well as clients in Europe, Australia and the Middle East. Datix has offices in the London, Chicago, Washington and Toronto with partners in the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

Datix is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. To learn more, visit www.datix.co.uk  or call +44 (0)20 8971 1971

For further information please contact:

Mary Phillips/Andreina West

PR Artistry Limited

Tel: +44 (0)1491 639500

Email: mary@pra-ltd.co.uk