Background A web application (PSAG, Patient Status At a Glance) was developed to replace the existing wall mounted whiteboard and marker pen system for displaying the status of in-patient beds, patients and requests for admission. It was developed in order to provide a more efficient way to manage and prioritise admissions to our hospice In Patient Unit (IPU), as well as enabling the capture of data for audit purposes. Planning for the process began in May 2015 with a pilot taking place in December 2015. It was formally rolled out in January 2016.

Benefits

• It has improved the way in which we manage our admissions waiting list by allowing us to easily assign/update priority

• It will be a useful audit tool for looking at unmet need (those patients who would have been admitted if there had been a bed) as well as length of wait for a bed and reasons for admission

• Provides data on average urgency of request and whether we manage to meet the urgency stated

• It can be accessed by all clinical teams who work on IPU from any connected PC in the hospice

• Improved confidentiality (previous whiteboard could have been viewed through a window or open door)

Issues

• Time taken to train all staff and to adapt to the new system

• System relies on accurate and timely entering or updating of information

• Initial problems with maintenance and troubleshooting as there was no on-site IT support

• PSAG is not linked to our electronic records system (SystmOne) so risk of duplication of information or relevant clinical information not being entered into SystmOne

• It cannot collect some data that we have previously been collecting manually

The Future Use of the PSAG continues to evolve as new issues arise