The time equivalent of one and a half staff nurses has been saved at a local NHS Trust, thanks to a new piece of home visit allocation software.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Hospital Foundation Trust’s district nursing team has adopted the new SystmOne Auto Planner software from developers TPP.
Planning a home visit just got easier
Auto Planner quickly matches the right nurse, with the right skillset and geographical base, to the right patient.
The software has reduced the time spent by district nurse sisters allocating patient appointments by approximately 80%. This time saving equates to the estimated working hours of one-full time and one part-time staff nurse per year.
District nursing sister for Stockton, Jen Hartas, said: “It’s saved us so much time.
“I have around an extra eight hours a week that I can now devote to patient care or training, instead of spending it managing the appointment calendars for the district nurses. It even takes into account lunch breaks and our daily team briefings.”
District nursing sister for Hartlepool, Tracey Forster, said: “We trialed the new software in Hartlepool last June and it made a huge difference straight away.
“Instead of having to find availability in each district nurse’s calendar to fit in new appointments, the software does it for us. It even plans the home visit routes to make each nurse’s day as time-efficient as possible.”
One of the first in the country
As one of the first NHS Trust’s in the country to adopt Auto Planner, the efficiencies have attracted the interests of hospitals around the country.
NHS Trusts from Derbyshire, Sussex and South Tees have taken part in discussions and colleagues from Trusts in Country Durham and the Wirral have made special site visits to learn about the software and for advice on how they can best implement the system.
Ben Ryan, the Trust’s SystmOne Configuration Lead, commented: “There were a few teething problems as it has to be adapted as needed, but there was nothing we couldn’t overcome. I’ve been really pleased with how the clinical staff have taken to it and made it work for the benefit of their patients.”
Due to the nature of their role, the district nursing team’s community work is the only service in the Trust for which Auto Planner is suitable. Other services, such as Outpatients, will continue to use their existing appointment processes.
