2010-01-20 15:42:46 - NHS Wakefield District, the main NHS body responsible for healthcare and health promotion for the people who live in the Wakefield District, has invested in a business intelligence solution from COA Solutions (www.coasolutions.com).

Comprising of IBM, Cognos and COA Solutions’ own software systems, it is one of NHS Wakefield District’s biggest IT investments to date and will provide valuable insight into how the Primary Care Trust (PCT) is performing in relation to the health needs of its population. As health in the Wakefield District is generally worse than other parts of England, this provides the PCT with considerable ongoing challenges.

Using information from the business intelligence solution, NHS Wakefield District will be able to more effectively fulfil regulatory requirements set out by:

- The World Class Commissioning Agenda:
- the Department of Health’s Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention policy (QIPP); and
- The Care Quality Commission.

Ultimately, the solution will improve the services it delivers to its 321,200

strong population.

NHS Wakefield District intends to make the data from the business intelligence solution available to other commissioners in the area such as Practice Based Commissioning Groups, GP surgeries and dentists, empowering their stakeholders to make shared, informed decisions. The ultimate goal is to provide the entire health service as well as Wakefield Council with access to the business intelligence system. This will enable the PCT to strengthen partnerships with other local sector organisations to improve both the health education and the health and well-being of local people.

NHS Wakefield District’s Director of Corporate Services, Gill Galdins says: “With the country currently experiencing a recession it’s even more important that we are providing best value for money whilst still improving the quality of the services we deliver to the Wakefield population. We recognise that we need comprehensive, accurate and timely information if we are going to achieve a good standard of regulatory compliance and improve efficiency and service delivery.”

NHS Wakefield District’s data is currently held in multiple systems and displayed using Excel, making it extremely time consuming to collate and difficult to compare. With the COA Solutions business intelligence system in place, the PCT will have more timely access to information from a range of data sources. This allows information to be analysed in real-time to understand the needs of the community. Unlike restrictive ‘out of the box’ business intelligence systems, the flexibility of the COA Solutions system will allow NHS Wakefield District to produce customised reports on all aspects of its performance both now and in the future. It will also enable the PCT to adapt and respond quickly to new information requirements aligned with the strategic priorities for the district.

NHS Wakefield District’s Head of Information Rachel Spilsbury, says: “Our business intelligence project is an excellent example of best practice. It’s a false economy to use quick fix, standardised business intelligence systems in response to specific regulatory reporting requirements. In contrast, the COA Solutions system can be configured to report on all aspects of our performance enabling us to fulfil both existing and future regulatory requirements. Importantly, by using this system, we will continue to have an accurate and holistic view of the underlying needs of the Wakefield population.”

In accordance with the NHS World Class Commissioning Strategy, NHS Wakefield District has to achieve good performance across eleven key deliverables, each of which is marked out of four, where level four is the best
(www.dh.gov.uk/worldclasscommissioning). NHS Wakefield District is confident that with the business intelligence system in place, it will be able to move quickly from level two to either level three or four in the majority of the competency levels.

Rachel Spilsbury, says: “We will be using the business intelligence solution to highlight areas where we are currently underperforming. Staff will be able to access all types of information relating to childhood obesity, for example, and analyse and report on this information in detail to understand the underlying factors influencing health outcomes. With this information to hand, commissioners can best decide how to tackle the issue. They will also be able to compare the effectiveness of different courses of action so that the most effective approach can be identified and best practice can be adopted.”

Also key will be analysis of accident and emergency (A&E) attendances and emergency admissions so that NHS Wakefield District can implement measures to bring about reductions. Gill Galdins explains: “The COA Solutions system will be used to analyse accident and emergency attendances and hospital admissions with a view to determining trends and exploring actions we can take to reduce unnecessary admissions, thereby cutting costs. With the public sector focused on innovation and efficiency, working as cost effectively as possible is obviously a top priority.”

ENDS

About NHS Wakefield District

1. NHS Wakefield District is responsible for providing health services across Wakefield, the five towns, and their surrounding communities. This includes community-based health services such as district nursing, health visiting and podiatry. NHS Wakefield District also oversees the work of GPs, dentists, opticians and pharmacists, and is responsible for commissioning mental health, hospital and other specialist services on behalf of local people.

2. In addition NHS Wakefield District carries out a wide-range of health promotion aimed at helping to improve the health and well-being of local people

World Class Commissioning

1. The world class commissioning programme is transforming the way health and care services are commissioned.

2. World class commissioning will deliver a more strategic and long-term approach to commissioning services, with a clear focus on delivering improved health outcomes.

3. There are four key elements to the programme; a vision for world class commissioning, a set of world class commissioning competencies, an assurance system and a support and development framework.

About Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention policy (QIPP)

1. QIPP, a goal set by the Department of Health (DoH), is aimed at achieving major efficiency savings whilst improving quality of service.

2, QIPP is not a top-down, National initiative. It is about the NHS working in different ways to ensure that it delivers the highest quality care. Making this a reality requires action at all levels of the system – from front-line clinicians to local providers and commissioners, SHAs, to the DoH and others at a National level.

About Care Quality Commission
1. The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. Its aim is to make sure better care is provided for everyone, whether it’s in hospital, in care homes, in people's own homes, or elsewhere.
2. The Care Quality Commission regulates health and adult social care services, whether provided by the NHS, local authorities, private companies or voluntary organisations. The Commission also seeks to protect the interests of people whose rights are restricted under the Mental Health Act.

About COA Solutions www.coasolutions.com

1. COA Solutions is the UK's leading supplier of integrated business management and information systems to public, private and not-for-profit organisations in the service sector. COA Solutions prides itself on getting close to its customers by understanding their businesses and responding to their business needs.

2. COA Solutions' award-winning Smart Business Suite combines core financial management, procurement, human resource and payroll systems, integrated with a range of collaborative, document management and business intelligence solutions. COA Solutions also provides managed service and bureau service options. Its systems and services extend the value and effectiveness of the finance, HR and payroll departments across the organisation and enable managers in the business to monitor, analyse and continually improve corporate performance.

3. COA Solutions has more than 500 experienced and professional staff supporting and servicing over 4,000 clients across the UK service sector including Companies House, Newcastle City Council, WHSmith, Royal Bank of Scotland, Aer Lingus, National Express Group, DFS, RSPB and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust.

Contacts:
For further information about NHS Wakefield District please contact, media and marketing manager, Jo Thorne on 01924 31766. For further information about COA Solutions please contact Liz Ebbrell on 01625 856505 or email liz.ebbrell@coasolutions.com