A new patient administration system which aims to improve patient pathway management has been launched in Birmingham.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), which runs the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB), launched its new system OceanoPAS.

UHB is one of the 12 NHS trusts designated as an NHS Global Digital Exemplar by NHS England, providing access to up to £10m to invest in digital infrastructure and specialist training.

OceanoPAS is the culmination of a four-year project to develop a patient administration system specifically to meet the needs of one of the highest performing acute trusts.

Oceano is a new generation patient administration system built on a modular software system that offers an end-to-end solution to support patient care management. It was developed in collaboration with Servelec, the Trust’s commercial partner, to replace iPM which was implemented in 2006 as part of the Government’s now defunct National Programme for IT.

An intuitive system, it has prompted extremely positive user feedback highlighting that OceanoPAS is both easier and quicker to use than its predecessor and boasts a number of time-saving features.

Its integrated functionality allows greater automation of tasks and aims to improve data quality by limiting the scope for user error through a series of controls.

Better data is not the only benefit; functionality such as referral and waiting list screens that contain ‘real time’ information aims to improve how the Trust manages patient pathways.

For patients, the implementation of OceanoPAS will mean improved correspondence about their hospital appointments and flexible options linked to how they receive communications – for example, email.

Over one million patient records were transferred to the new system which will be used by around 1,500 staff across the Trust, many of whom were involved in designing and testing the software.

UHB’s Director of Strategic Operations, Kevin Bolger, said:  “We are delighted that OceanoPAS has been rolled-out across the Trust – it’s very early days but to get to this point is a phenomenal achievement.

“This launch has been the culmination of many years’ hard work by a very committed team, who have faced some tough challenges.

“Implementing a new patient administration system in itself is no mean feat – the system contains all our patient activity records – demographics, appointments, waiting list entries and is the backbone of the hospital, used daily by hundreds of staff at any given point – however the team did not just implement a new system, they built one.

“The demise of the National Programme for IT resulted in the Trust being in control of the decision making for its electronic patient record strategy – it gave us the opportunity to design an optimised solution.

“In creating OceanoPAS, our approach has been to make the system as intuitive as possible, to make it hard to do the ‘wrong thing’ by limiting the ability to input incorrect data or select inappropriate actions thus making it easier for our staff to do the ‘right thing’.

“We have been able to harness the extensive knowledge and expertise of our staff – our subject matter experts – in running clinics and managing patient pathways to design a system that works for our Trust.

“Although it is very early days, staff do like using the system and it is hoped that once it has fully bedded in, both the Trust and patients will see the benefits.”

Alan Stubbs, Chief Executive Officer, at Servelec Group Plc, said: “At Servelec, we understand that every NHS Trust we work with wants to create their own story and vision based on local needs and partnerships. The journey behind Oceano showcases how through working collaboratively, and with the right support and focus, innovative ideas can be transformed to deliver real results to the NHS – whether by delivering time or cost efficiencies, or delivering an improved service to patients.”

“Our partnership with UHB first started when delivering Emergency Department functionality in the hospital. Working together with UHB to expand the functionality and build the new Oceano system, that matches the needs of the modern day NHS, has been a remarkable achievement.”

“We are proud to work in partnership with UHB, one of our Global Digital Exemplar trusts, to deliver care through innovative use of digital technologies. We would like to send our thanks and congratulations to everyone who has been involved in the Oceano collaboration over the last few years. This is a great testament to team work and innovation in the NHS.”

Servelec is the only company in the UK to work with Global Digital Exemplar trusts in both the secondary care and acute care settings. Servelec continues to develop and enhance the Oceano solution to encompass the needs of acute hospitals and community providers; crossing traditional healthcare boundaries.