The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust has renewed its contract with Silverlink Software, to retain the use of one of the country's leading patient administration systems (PAS), supporting the trust’s strategy to deliver flexible and affordable digital innovation using a 'best-of-breed' approach.
As the UK's only specialist neurosciences trust, The Walton Centre delivers a world-class service in diagnosing and treating disorders affecting the brain, spine, peripheral nerves and muscles for patients. It chose to deploy Silverlink’s PCS PAS in 2003 because of its successful deployments locally, proven integration credentials and effective clinical and administrative features.
The technology's interoperable capabilities have allowed the trust to buy and build neurophysiology modules that work for its specific needs and budget. Rather than investing in an enterprise-wide solution, The Walton Centre has created an in-house EPR which includes nursing documentation, outpatient workflow, and e-observations, which integrates into the PAS.
It has helped the trust to save millions of pounds and ensured an agile and customisable patient-centred system. The decision to retain Silverlink’s PAS until 2025 ensures the trust can build on this technology infrastructure even further.
Justin Griffiths, Head of IM&T, The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We are delighted to be renewing our 17-year-long partnership with Silverlink, in pursuit of a best-of-breed approach to digital transformation. Over the course of our working relationship, we have been able to achieve close to full EPR functionality and save millions of pounds by integrating our own digital solutions while ensuring we have a solid architectural foundation using Silverlink's PAS.
"By doing so, our team has built up a very good relationship with the Silverlink team, and our in-house skills and knowledge have improved significantly. As a trust, we have also learned to be flexible in responding to requests for system changes. It’s meant we have established really good engagement with our clinicians and nurses and we have developed an EPR as a team. This adaptability and responsiveness would not have been achievable with 'off the shelf' solutions."
Since 2003, the trust has implemented Silverlink’s core modules, including bed management, referral to treatment (RTT) and 18-week pathways, as well as a number of specialised add-ons for outpatient examinations. It also enabled the trust to develop its own in-house patient kiosk self-check-ins within just six weeks.
Using the PAS, the trust can also analyse data on patient experiences and outcomes to improve practice methods and positively enhance patient experience. In the latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) National Inpatient Survey, The Walton Centre ranked 6th in terms of "overall experience".
Tim Quainton, Managing Director, Silverlink Software, said: "The Walton Centre is a great example of how choosing a best-of-breed approach can achieve the same benefits of an enterprise-wide EPR, but without the same level of risk and cost. Despite limited budget and resources, the trust has created a bespoke suite of solutions to support their neurosciences specialities, empowering users and improving patient experience.
"We are proud to renew our contract, and very much looking forward to what the future holds."
Silverlink's PAS is used across more than 50 healthcare locations, to support 15 million electronic patient records every day. Designed to be highly-compliant with NHS processes and best-practice, it provides support for the whole administrative-cycle, whilst also supporting a best-of-breed approach to digital transformation.
About The Walton Centre
The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust is the only hospital trust in the UK specialising in neurology, neurosurgery and pain services. Although the majority of patients come from Merseyside, Cheshire, North Wales, Lancashire and the Isle of Man, for some specialist treatments of complex disorders we see patients from all parts of the country, referred by their GPs or other neurologists, neurosurgeons and pain clinicians.The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as 'Outstanding' by the Care Quality Commission twice. The independent regulator of all health and social care services in England published its first rating on Friday 21 October 2016, following announced and unannounced inspection visits to the Trust in April 2016. The second was announced Monday 19 August 2019 after inspections in March and April 2019.
About Silverlink Software
Silverlink Software is the leading specialist PAS provider to the NHS, working with over 50 healthcare organisations to support 15 million electronic patient records every day.The company's flagship product, PCS, is one of the most widely-used patient administration systems (PAS) in the NHS. Recognised as being flexible, cost-effective, and user-friendly, it processes and validates high-volumes of data in real-time, to admit patients and track them in beds, bays and wards across the country.