Salford Royal, one of the UK’s top-performing trusts, is also a nominated NHS Global Digital Exemplar (GDE). GDEs are tasked with pioneering the use of digital technologies for other “fast follower” trusts to learn from.
Current digital projects include innovative, in-home solutions for those with long-term, chronic conditions. These projects include:
- Smart Home sensors that leverage gaming technology to support the independence of elderly people with memory problems
- Smartphone-powered home testing for renal patients
- A connected, telehealth approach to diabetes prevention
Underpinning these initiatives is a transformation in the NHS trust’s digital workspace that has made possible the wider sharing of sensitive patient information. Not only is Salford’s evolution into an integrated care organisation (ICO) powered by the secure sharing of information, the time and money the trust’s IT department saves is freeing valuable resources to drive further, citizen-centred innovations.
“We’re changing to an end-to-end public health approach, rather than just dealing with acutely unwell people in a hospital setting,” CTO Rik Wakefield says. “As an ICO, we have responsibility for social care as well as healthcare. We talk now about serving citizens, rather than patients. So, we have very close relationships with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the local council, local mental health organisations and other providers to offer a joined-up approach. As an IT service provider, we want to remove the barriers between these organisations and provide services across a wider footprint.”
See how technology is transforming Salford Royal.
Integrated Care Requires Integrated IT
Salford Royal has used Citrix technology for more than a decade, initially to deploy its electronic patient records (EPR) system as a virtual app. As a result, Wakefield says, “We are very, very paper-light. You don’t see trolleys of case notes being pushed around the hospital anymore.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into bringing our technology together. We’ve integrated systems and brought a lot of ‘shadow IT’ into the department – which is now known as the Digital Department. The integration and streamlining has allowed us to innovate and to really progress our digital agenda.”
In recent years, the relationship with Citrix has evolved into a strategic partnership. Faced with the demands of becoming an ICO and the need to upgrade its desktop estate from Windows 7, Salford leveraged the Citrix-Microsoft partnership to deploy Citrix Workspace on Microsoft Azure. The trust is looking to deliver a Windows desktop, apps, and data securely to any endpoint device. The single-sign-on (SSO) solution means that users within the hospital environment will be able to “tap and go” with their ID card. A clinician could instantly log on to any available terminal and have their desktop session follow them anywhere, from emergency room to theatre to bedside, or from office to teaching room.
Within the trust, end-points will increasingly be low-cost thin clients or re-purposed legacy PCs. However, the change enables a richer set of use cases. The same desktop and information can be delivered to clinicians on ward rounds or in surgery, to community clinics, or to care workers making home visits.
The Citrix-Microsoft cloud solution also gives Salford the ability to host systems for other partner organisations and to share all information across organisational boundaries.
“The hospital is just one element in the overall social contract,” Wakefield says. “But unless every element is able to communicate and share information effectively, there can be knock-on effects for, say, our extremely expensive acute sites. The work we’ve done to join the whole system together has been really welcomed by stakeholder organisations. Within the overall GDE programme, there’s been a lot of work with community services to bring them up to speed. That includes both community clinics and the crisis teams we may have working in neighbourhoods.”
Toward an Improved Health Landscape
The benefits? “It’s all around the speed of delivery and the end-user experience,” Wakefield says. “A cloud solution makes us more dynamic. It gives us the ability to quickly stand-up or stand-down new services as they’re required. But it also provides cheaper delivery of services. We’re using systems and solutions that are already in place, rather than paying for expensive new solutions. It means that, rather than using expensive fibre to connect buildings, we can look to use an internet connection, which is much more cost effective.”
From the secure delivery of data to clinicians, Wakefield’s next task is to share directly with citizens.
“We’ve been asked about extending information to patients for a number of years, but I’ve always resisted because of the risk and effort required to extend operations to such a wide user-base. Cloud makes that more palatable for a small IT team like ours.”
Wakefield and his team continue to pioneer digital healthcare. Citrix and secure cloud technologies mean that information is shared securely, wherever needed, whilst freeing expert time to drive further innovation.
“The reward for me,” Wakefield says, “is an improved health landscape and outcomes for the citizens of Salford. Ultimately, that’s how we measure ourselves as being successful.”
Citrix and Healthcare
Citrix has a long and successful track record of working with healthcare organisations in the UK and worldwide. We can draw on our experience to help shape the healthcare IT your hospital needs for the future.
To learn more, visit our Healthcare Solutions pages.
