Case studies

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland embarked on a workforce re-design project in early 2009. The Trust’s objectives were to evaluate its junior doctor rotas and improve compliance, ensure hospital services meet patient needs and identify efficiency savings.

 

In 2009 a number of the Trust’s rotas were over 48 hours and being paid the higher band 2 pay supplements. A key objective of the workforce re-design project was to improve the efficiency of these rotas, ensuring that the right junior doctors were in the right place at the right time and fulfilling their training needs. With new rotas in place the Trust anticipated improved compliance and financial savings through lower band 1 pay supplements.

 

Assistant Medical Staffing Manager, Malcolm Clegg explained, “The Trust focused on improving compliance and in February 2009 appointed a full time project manager to concentrate entirely on this area. A significant amount of work was undertaken to improve compliance and to support this, the Trust decided to invest in the Zircadian system in August 2009. We have been delighted that we have achieved such good results already.”

 

The right software to support rota redesign

The Trust had clear objectives in place for their rota redesign and service reconfiguration. It was aware that the right software package was essential to support these objectives and to facilitate the process of implementing the new working patterns.

The Trust reviewed various rota planning solutions before partnering with Zircadian and has been delighted with the successful implementation of the solution, and with the ongoing expert support.

Zircadian’s e-Rota software allowed the Trust to quickly and easily explore a number of different options for each rota to check compliance, pay banding and staffing levels before deciding on the best fit. The software also supports Trusts in following the correct contractual process for implementation of new working patterns.

Malcolm Clegg commented, “We were the first Trust in Northern Ireland to invest in this type of solution and we went for a fast track approach to get a quick return on investment.”

To help the Trust achieve that quick return on investment Zircadian’s team of rota experts advised on, and built, the Trust’s existing and proposed rotas in the e-Rota system. This freed up Trust resources and, by completing this complex task early on in the project, allowed for clear comparisons and for decisions on implementation to be made very quickly. This approach also established a robust implementation process to support the roll-out of the new rotas. Zircadian’s team was able to use its expertise to explore further rota options for the Trust to consider, and the ongoing access to the Zircadian support desk ensured that any questions or problems the Trust came across were quickly resolved.

Improved monitoring processes lead to improved results

A key objective in implementing the new working patterns was confirming the new rotas were workable and sustainable. Doctors underwent a monitoring exercise in which they were diary-carded to confirm they were able to manage their workloads within the parameters of the new rota.

Prior to implementing Zircadian’s solution, the Trust had a paper-based approach to monitoring which was time consuming and cumbersome for both the medical staffing team and the junior doctors. Zircadian’s e-Monitor software supported the Trust in improving the whole monitoring process through online electronic data collection, automated calculation of results and instant notification of issues.

Malcolm continued, “At the time we felt that Zircadian’s systems were the only ones really tailored towards our requirements to manage junior doctors’ hours. The e-Monitor module was an important part of that. The coordination and analysis of the paper-based returns placed an enormous burden on the resources of the medical staffing team and meant that other important work got pushed back. It was also difficult to ensure that we got timely returns from the doctors, especially if they were working off-site or at other satellite hospitals. With Zircadian’s software doctors can provide their details more easily and quickly with their own secure log-ins. The system also automatically compares the monitored data with the rotas to confirm compliance”

Having the e-Monitor software has enabled the medical staffing team to capture and act on breaches in the monitoring exercises early on and be pro-active to avoid late returns and low return rates.

Malcolm explained, “Doctors often left the paper monitoring until the last minute, and if monitoring returns were submitted late, it made it difficult to query the reasons for a breach when it had occurred two or three weeks before. Now with the daily reporting we can see a breach and investigate it right away.”

Success in first year builds long-term relationship

The rotas implemented as part of the workforce re-design project are now playing a vital role in supporting the Trust objectives of delivering safe and high quality health and social care services, in an efficient and cost effective manner.

Initial monitoring exercises showed the new rotas to be compliant and sustainable working patterns. The lower bandings that were achieved as a result of the project contributed to a cost reduction of approximately £150,000 per annum.

e-Rota and e-Monitor continue to be a vital tool for the Trust’s medical staffing department, providing the ability to be reactive to any changing circumstances within the Trust whilst maintaining the good working practices the Trust has put in place.

These benefits have led the Trust to renew its contracts with Zircadian, with both parties looking forward to a successful long term relationship.

Henry Carleton, Managing Director at Zircadian commented, “It is very encouraging to see a Trust taking positive steps to meeting the challenges posed by the QIPP agenda, and maintaining its commitment to providing first class frontline services. At Zircadian we aim to provide the tools and services to support Trusts working on projects such as this, to help ensure a successful outcome. We are look forward to continuing to build on these initial successes.”

About Southern Health and Social Care Trust

The Southern Health and Social Care Trust (Northern Ireland) became operational on 1 April 2007 following the amalgamation of Craigavon Area Hospital Group, Craigavon and Banbridge Community, and the Newry and Mourne, and Armagh and Dungannon Health and Social Services Trusts.

 

The Trust was formed to ensure that the delivery of patient care comes first by establishing and promoting links between hospitals and community based services. With 12,000 employees serving a population of around 335,000, the Trust has to ensure the provision of first class patient care while managing costs and employee welfare.

For further information call Dee Enright on 020 8946 8199 or email dee.enright@zircadian.com