Publications

Rostering for better patient care at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust - 07/07/2008

Investment in electronic rostering and time and attendance software will enable Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to improve workforce productivity and release senior nursing staff from time-consuming administration duties to focus on the delivery of safe and effective patient care.

Ensuring its wards are fully staffed to the correct level and skill mix to serve its surrounding population of 310,000 is paramount to the Trust achieving its goal of putting patients first.

The eHL Rostering and T&A solution from SMART reduces administration related to attendance and absence, currently a manual process at the Trust. It will significantly reduce time spent preparing and monitoring the roster, estimated to take 20% of a ward manager's time.

Julie Hickman, Deputy Director of Nursing at the Trust explains the fundamental difference the system will make to nursing staff, "We are continually looking for ways to improve the staff and patient experience; this system will enable speedier, more effective rostering, a reduction in administration and will streamline production of management and payroll information, giving our senior nurses more time to supervise and deliver direct patient care".

Julie continues, "The self-service kiosk feature, which can be accessed from home, will enable our staff to be more in control of their own hours, which we hope will have a positive impact on absence levels, staff retention and reduce the need for temporary staff. The system will also help to ensure compliance with working time regulations by restricting the number of night shifts per person and limiting working hours where needed".

How does it work? - Using self-service kiosks, the web-based eHL software will empower 1,500 nurses initially to self-roster their own working hours and make requests for leave. Requests and shifts are authorised by managers electronically along with approvals for enhancements and overtime. Biometric hand readers will capture staff working hours automatically and feed the information directly to and from the ESR HR & Payroll software in use at the Trust to ensure accurate pay and a reduction in paperwork. The solution will then be rolled out Trust-wide to accommodate all 4,000 staff.

SMART is pleased to announce the launch of its unique new staff bank management system for the NHS, the only staff bank management system to offer full employee data synchronisation with the national ESR HR & payroll system in use across 568 NHS trusts in England and Wales.

Tristan Spencer, Health Market Director at SMART said, "The new system enables fast and efficient planning of NHS bank and agency staff with the appropriate skills and at the appropriate cost based on bank staff availability, qualifications, skills and preferences. The synchronisation of staff profiles with ESR makes this a unique offering in the market place".

Using a sophisticated search engine trusts can identify available members of an NHS bank and select the most appropriate person to fill a shift, helping to reduce administration and improve efficiencies in this area. The 100% web based system is offered as a stand-alone solution or can be fully integrated to the SMART eRostering & Time and Attendance system.

About SMART

Hertfordshire based SMART is the leading provider of true web-based workforce management solutions, delivering fully integrated workforce management across all nursing, medical, administrative and support services in the NHS.

The SMART solutions incorporate eRostering including team based self-rostering and auto-rostering as well as fully automated time and attendance, absence management, bank administration and monitoring of working time legislation. This unique breadth of functionality enables Trusts to improve their staff productivity and efficiency with significant reductions in: bank, agency, administration and absence costs.

In 2001, SMART was selected by the NHS and McKesson as the best of breed provider of eRostering and Time and Attendance solutions for the National ESR programme. As a result SMART is uniquely positioned to provide proven secure, reliable and fully automated ESR integration. The SMART application and its interfaces to ESR have been rigorously tested and accepted by ESR.

Established in 1986, 550 organisation worldwide benefit from SMART's solutions and services. The SMART NHS installed base is growing rapidly, with 21 trusts contracted at 1st May 2008, including: University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust and Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust.

If you would like further information or an image to support this release please contact:

Lucy Caudle, Marketing Manager, SMART
Telephone: 01438 822229
Email: lucyc@smart-workforce.com
Visit www.smart-rostering.co.uk to see our NHS specific website