New digital tools at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust are accelerating ICU admissions processes, saving over 25,000 clinical hours annually and enabling healthcare staff to increase hands-on patient care.
North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust has extended the rollout of InterSystems TrakCare, a health information system from InterSystems, to streamline ICU admissions and documentation.
Prior to using this new initiative, ICU admissions involved completing a 45-page paper document for each patient, which often delayed access to patient information. Now, with the help of InterSystems TrakCare as its Electronic Patient Record (EPR), the time the team needs to complete each ICU admission is reduced on average by 33%. With an annual average of 837 ICU admissions, this transformation saves considerable time for staff and patients.
In addition, TrakCare now provides the ICU care team with up-to-date patient records, minimising errors associated with manual data entry and ensuring that critical information is always readily accessible to the care team.
The system includes improvements to real-time electronic observations and nursing task lists vital to closely monitoring critically ill patients and it drives further efficiencies that strengthen quality and delivery of overall patient care.
Amy Reed, ICU Nurse / Clinical Educator, at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, said: “InterSystems TrakCare has revolutionised how we capture and share patient information. Patient plans are in one place with secure, simultaneous access by multiple users. Staff no longer search for paper notes and legibility has improved hugely, giving them more time for hands-on patient care.”
The financial impact is also substantial. By digitising and eliminating paper forms, the trust saved approximately £35,229 last year in stationery costs and administrative time spent preparing paper packs, which has been critical for maximising resources and reinvesting in patient care. Moving away from manual paper-based processes has also led to a carbon footprint reduction of 30.91 tonnes of CO2e annually, which underlines the trust’s commitment to sustainability.
Marie Collingwood-Graham, head of digital programmes for the trust, said: “Removing paper, moving to a digital solution, and interfacing observations directly into the EPR has significantly benefitted our ability to access accurate data quickly and thus our ICU patient journeys. Reducing the time clinical staff spend on documentation means they can prioritise care over paperwork. Being part of such an initiative is extremely rewarding, as it is delivering actual results in terms of the level of care we can provide to our patients.”
In preparation for the project go-live, the trust took an inclusive stakeholder approach, with the digital team providing thorough training for 300 ICU staff. This included clerical, doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals, covering 90% of the ICU workforce, as well as specialist organ donation nurses who were also trained to optimise data utilisation.
As the project progresses, NTH plans to extend similar digitisation efforts to other areas of healthcare delivery, including outpatients, stroke pathways, and more.
Colin Henderson, Managing Director, UK & Ireland, InterSystems, said, “It has been a privilege to work closely with North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust on this critical ICU digitisation project. The enhancements made with TrakCare are driving efficiencies that allow healthcare professionals to focus more on patient care, which is critical for achieving better patient outcomes.”
