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Boosting patient care with ePCR

Zain Hanif and Jamie Martin

The Bedfordshire ePCR Go Live recommenced 30 March after further extensive testing of the software was conducted.

Hospitals in Bedfordshire are now receiving information about incoming patients before they arrive at ED thanks to the new electronic patient care record (ePCR) system introduced by the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAST).

Between 30 March and 5 April, 845 ePCRs were created and finalised using the new Siren Nova system, which was introduced in late March. Of these patients, 573 were taken to hospital, with 361 transported to Luton and Dunstable Hospital and 212 to Bedford South Wing.

Patient information was sent to each hospital ahead of time using a new real-time inbound information system, the called Siren Notification Board (SNB).

The system has been well-received by hospital staff so far, with administrators in Bedford South Wing saying that it:

  • Allowed them to start registering the patient before the crew arrives, in turn speeding up the booking in process.
  • Allowed them to print the record and scan at the point of care, where previously they had to wait for the paperwork to be returned to admin for scanning. In addition, they no longer have to spend time removing staples from a document in order to scan it.
  • Made information immediately available on the hospital system after scanning.

Sam Wilkinson, an emergency medical technician with EEAST, who is based at Kempston, has also welcomed the new software, saying: “I found navigating the new system much easier. I really like the new speech to text functions, which saves time by allowing you to dictate notes directly into Siren Nova, and being able to take photos of the patients' medications or prescriptions.”

Zain Hanif EXT Emergency Operations from Kempston Station (pictured with Jamie Martin below): “We had to have a couple of goes at pulling the CAD down as the process is a little different to the old Tough Books, but after a couple of calls we’d worked it out and found navigating round the device really easy”

 

Published 08 April 2021