Tag Archives: blackpool

Data, Healthcare Tech, News

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals goes ‘live’ with CCube Solutions’ EDRMS to deliver digital records and enhance patient care

50,000 paper files already scanned and made available electronically to clinicians

CCube Solutions announces today that Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has implemented its electronic document and records management system (EDRMS) to store legacy and day-forward paper medical records as part of a substantial investment to deliver digitally-enabled care.

The EDRMS project is part of a major digital transformation change programme within the Trust – to boost clinical and organisational efficiency – which will also see the procurement of a new organisational-wide EPR[1] system and the integration of the two new platforms together.

Fully operational and ‘live’ today, 7,500 clinical staff will be trained to the use the CCube EDRMS to ultimately access all of the Trust’s medical files – totalling around 650,000 patient records all of which are in the process of being scanned. This will help support the Trust’s busy workload of 32,000 outpatient appointments per month, delivered primarily from its large Blackpool Victoria Hospital site.

EDRMS provides instant access to medical records, enhances patient safety through 100% notes availability, improves clinical effectiveness, enhances security and auditing and saves money. It is also allowing storage areas to be converted into much needed clinical space.

Geoff Burrow, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals’ Chief Information Officer, explains, “Covid obviously delayed our progress with this project, but we’re now fully operational with EDRMS and focused on getting rid of the paper. Over 50,000 paper records have already been scanned in, each containing about 300 pages.”

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is situated on the west coast of Lancashire and operates within a regional health economy catchment area that spans Lancashire and South Cumbria, supporting a population of 1.6 million and an estimated 18 million visitors to the seaside town of Blackpool. The Trust also provides specialist tertiary care for cardiac and haematology services across this region, as well as hosting the National Artificial Eye Service.

The vast workload to scan all paper notes is being done in two ways. First, the Trust has invested in creating its own scanning department where 35 staff use 10 Opex Falcon scanners, supplied by CCube Solutions, to process the paperwork. Second, scanning has also been outsourced within the National Health Service to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) – one of the largest specialist scanning operators in Europe – who use the same Opex Falcon equipment.

A not-for-profit arm’s length body of the Department of Health and Social Care, the NHSBSA has long track record in document scanning given its expertise and heritage processing all paper prescriptions in the UK which still total tens of millions per month.

The Opex Falcon scanners are rated at 116 pages per minute at 300 dpi – the resolution recommended to meet BS 10008, a best practice records standard for the implementation and operation of electronic information management systems, including the storage, extraction and transfer of information.

Burrow says, “CCube EDRMS is designed to literally be an online version of the paper record and has six sections busy clinicians are familiar with. This makes it easy and intuitive for them to find the documents they need whether it be clinical correspondence, clinical notes, treatment documents, investigation reports, safeguarding documents and so on.”

Given the transition underway between paper and electronic notes, when clinicians log into the Trust’s Patient Administration System (PAS) today, they are currently presented with a marker to show whether the patient’s record is available digitally or still in paper format.

Burrow adds, “We’re currently working on the detail but the strategy will be to adopt scan-on-demand so that when a patient is booked for an appointment, their notes are pulled from the library, digitised ahead of time and then made available in the CCube EDRMS. This then saves moving any paper files about.”

The shift from paper to digital health records will deliver a variety of other benefits:

  • 100% notes availability. Electronic health records are available at the touch of a button to the right person at any time. This avoids delays in patients receiving treatment – or even appointments cancelled – if their paperwork isn’t readily available.
  • Remote and multi-user access. Remote and multi-user access to health records is now delivered 24/7. This is key given the ‘new normal’ of remote working post pandemic and the requirement for multi-disciplinary teams to collaborate together – and view medical notes at the same time – to provide care to an individual.
  • ‘In context’ access to medical records to be offered. As the Trust is currently procuring a new organisational-wide EPR, once this is finalised and the software deployed, a link will be added so that clinicians opening a patient’s record in the EPR can see – in context – the legacy digitised health record held in the EDRMS, too. This links the two systems together.
  • Security and data integrity is enhanced. Scanning records vastly improves the security of confidential patient information as files once digitised cannot degrade, be lost or be misplaced. Data is also backed up, access to the system logged and audited, and information lifecycle management rules applied to the data.

The CCube EDRMS runs on Dell EMC server and storage systems in the Trust’s two on-premise datacentres, dual-linked for resilience to ensure system availability and uptime.

Vijay Magon, CCube Solutions’ managing director, says, “Our research shows that on average a paper record is handled 10 to 15 times from storage to delivery. Not only is there an infection risk as people touch the paper but the costs just keep mounting each time files are requested and then put away. It is super to support Blackpool Teaching Hospitals address this: an invest to save process to get rid of the paper once and for all which will massively increase efficiency, improve staff productivity and enhance the overall care provided to patients locally.”

[1] Electronic Patient Record

Entertainment, News

Pantomonium! to grace Blackpool Grand Theatre in time for Christmas

Blackpool Grand Theatre has announced that with the generous support of producer Martin Dodd of UK Productions, panto legend, BBC Radio Lancashire presenter, and Britain’s Got Talent ‘finalist’ Steve Royle, and special guest West End and TV’s Tom Lister a condensed and COVID-safe pantomime fundraiser will ensure Christmas isn’t cancelled this year at Blackpool’s Grand!

The Christmas production Pantomonium! will run with strict COVID safeguards for a limited time and for a limited period – a sell-out is guaranteed!
Created by Jon Monie (winner of Best Script at The Great British Pantomime Awards 2019 for ‘Beauty & the Beast’), Pantomonium! is a specially written, one-act pantomime about pantomime.

When the beloved panto character, Fairy Tales, is kidnapped by the villainous Killjoy, an extraordinary adventure unfolds as the hunt for the all-powerful magic book begins.
Stepping out of the chorus-line, a young unnamed girl from the village of Ensemble joins the adventure to help find the missing manuscript. Along for the ride are the handsome Prince Charmless, and the hapless Tilly and Billy Topps from the local Panto Emporium.

With laughter and mayhem at every turn, the forces of good and evil fight to the final page over the future of pantomime itself.

A concentrated pantomime……just add laughter!

Matin Dodd, Producer UK Productions said ‘Blackpool Grand is very close to my heart, and this year would have been our 25th pantomime in this beautiful theatre. Our Wardrobe Department and costumes for all our productions are still housed in Blackpool.

‘Unfortunately, we had to postpone our usual major production as the costs and limitations just wouldn’t work based on COVID safe admission numbers.
‘However, after long discussions and the generous support of Steve Royle, Tom Lister and many of our regular suppliers we’ve created a show, a fantastic show, that’s all about Panto!

‘Full of all the great panto elements Comic, Dame, Prince and Princess (a girl from the village in this case!), and the usual mayhem Steve creates (safely distanced, of course!), we just can’t wait to get started. I am thrilled that we can bring Steve and Tom back together following their hilarious antics in last year’s hit Peter Pan.
‘All profits will go to Blackpool Grand, and we hope with the support of our great audience we create a total sell-out.”

Actor, Comic, and Presenter Steve Royle added ‘It was understandable but heart-breaking getting the call saying Pantomime was postponed. I just simply couldn’t let it go, I’d promised Martin and Ruth I’d do anything to make it work.

‘We kept talking and we all agreed our love for Blackpool’s Grand just made us want to find a way to help secure the theatre’s future and save panto and Christmas at the same time, so a fundraiser of a shorter, more COVID-safe version was considered and we are all working hard to make it work along with the kindness and support of others.

‘I cannot wait to be back on that stage, every performance is going to be so special…oh and very, very, funny!’

Ruth Eastwood, Chief Executive Blackpool Grand Theatre added ‘I’ll tell you, there’s been many sleepless nights! First having to close and then to cancel pantomime – the one show that we know means so much to local families – it’s been devastating. But the wonderful support we have received has been really heart-warming and spurred us on to try and salvage Christmas.

‘After days and nights of conversations about how we could make a production work, I am delighted to say with the support of Martin at UK Productions, Steve Royle and Tom Lister we are able to offer this unique Seasonal experience and help raise funds the theatre desperately needs. I guarantee this production will be from the heart, every single person involved just wants to get back on our beautiful stage and entertain. It has been an incredibly emotional time.

‘This will be a unique production, the only show of 2020 following our closure in March. All socially distanced seats will be the same price and, limited numbers available for each performance, you’ll need to book yours fast!’

Tom Lister joined adding ‘Having performed at Blackpool Grand many times it’s a favourite of mine. I was keen to help them last year with their 125th Anniversary and it’s hard to believe only months later the building was forced to close its doors. Martin contacted me and I agreed we had to do something.

It’s going to be a fantastic production and we all know the quality UK Productions are known for at Blackpool Grand. There is going to be a few less people on stage and a few less of you, so bring your enthusiasm in spades, you’re in for a great time! We can’t wait to see you all.’

Pantomonium! will run at Blackpool Grand Theatre from Friday 18 December 2020 to Sunday 3 January 2021. There will be three performances a day (11am, 3pm, and 7pm, running for approx. 1hr.15mins with no interval). All seats will be £25.50 per person and only available in set bubbles of 2, 3, 4 or six.

For your safety: Strict COVID-safeguards will be in place including track-and-trace, specialist cleaning, temperature checks, facemasks must be worn, and sanitiser will be provided. Tickets will only be available in advance and full customer details will need to be provided for UK Government Track and Trace. If a performance is cancelled full refunds will be given. Tickets will only be available in bubbles of 2, 3, 4, 5 and six. Set timed arrivals will be in place, and late arrivals will not be accepted.