How to implement iBleep

The successful software IT system used to support the work of junior doctors working in teams is now available for free across the NHS through Skills for Health - Workforce Projects Team.

The original iBleep Rapid Response system was developed at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough and won the Health Service Journal Improving Care with Technology award in 2006.

iBleep is a piece of software that enables staff to generate, accept and interact with calls generated from the wards, it utilises wireless technology on personal digital assistants (PDAs) which are carried by the junior doctors.

Skills for Health - Workforce Projects Team has negotiated free access to the iBleep software system for NHS trusts in England. This version has been configured to connect to different interfaces within trusts and will provide configuration and training documentation together with telephone and online support during and after implementation.

A launch event was held on the 13th March with over 50 delegates attending. Delegates received information on the functionality of WTD iBleep, how the system aids the WTD 2009 requirement, when and how software will be available to organisations, what type of documentation will be bundled with the software and the level of support available for the system. If you were unavailable to attend the event but would like to listen to all the information before deciding if to apply to implement WTD iBleep please listen to the webcasts www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/ibleepevent

Next steps…

Trusts should register their interest with us. To register - please contact Dan Hughes on 0207 953 0225 or dan.hughes@skillsforhealth.org.uk. Users will then be validated and given a user name and password to allow access to the portal. All the documentation and software required for iBleep will be accessible from this portal.

Attention should be given to the prerequisite document available at www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/wtd as trusts will have to confirm that they are in a position to implement iBleep before the software will be made available to them.

Several trusts have put themselves forward as early implementers, Calling Time spoke to Troy Welch, clinical site manager from The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust about their early implementation.

The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust first learnt about iBleep early last year when two members of the Clinical Site Management Team attended a Hospital at Night conference in Manchester. Dr Brendan McCarron, the project lead for the introduction of the iBleep system at James Cook University hospital, presented the iBleep system at the conference. “From the huge interest this presentation created with the delegates from our trust, we were intrigued to find out more,” says Troy.

Potential benefits

“Back in October we arranged a visit to the James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, to find out more and to see the system in operation. This system had numerous benefits in bringing improvements to our Hospital at Night Team, improving response times to the patients needs and monitoring the workloads of the hospital at night team ensuring that the work was delegated fairly and most importantly appropriately. Shortly after this visit we decided that the trust would definitely benefit from the introduction of the iBleep system in order to enhance patient safety and ensure that our services remain patient focused.”

Stakeholder signup

“The next stage in the process was to inform the key stakeholders within the trust about iBleep. These stakeholders consisted of Hospital at Night consultants, junior doctors, the director of service delivery, IT services, clinical governance and risk management. The Clinical Site Management team provided these stakeholders with the basic demographics of the system as well as information on how to find out more about iBleep. We then asked these key stakeholders to relay their views back to us about the introduction of the system.

The results were astonishing; all stakeholders were keen and enthusiastic to introduce this system within the trust. Some junior doctors highlighted an element of concern due to the size of the PDAs but we reassured them that this negative would be outweighed by the positives. All parties involved could see the potential benefits this system would make in direct patient care by prioritising calls, auditing workloads and tasks undertaken, reducing inappropriate bleeps from ward staff enabling the doctors to manage their time more effectively and ensuring the fair delegation of work to the most appropriate members of the Hospital at Night Team.”

iBleep steering group

“In February following our registration of interest, Skills for Health - Workforce Projects Team awarded the trust the opportunity to become an early implementer of the iBleep system along with this we gained funding from the Workforce Projects Team to help implement the system. Our next priorities were to identify the IT equipment needed and to set up an iBleep steering group consisting of representatives from all roles involved in the hospital at night team, consultants, junior doctors, IT, clinical governance / risk management and senior nurses with in the trust.

This group would then meet on a biweekly basis to enable the members of the steering group to feed back on the progress and problems encountered with the system.”

The steering group then identified four stages of implementation.

1. To introduce iBleep throughout the medical and rehabilitation wards at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital from 21.00hrs - 07.00hrs seven days a week.
2. To introduce iBleep to all wards and specialities throughout the Royal Bournemouth Hospital night time only.
3. To introduce iBleep at our second site at Christchurch Hospital, again night time only.
4. To introduce the use of iBleep during weekend and bank holiday daytime, throughout the whole trust.

Problems encountered - which IT equipment to use?

“One problem area which we encountered was purchasing the right IT equipment, there is a vast range of equipment available all meeting the required specification.

In the end the decision was made purely on the IT department negotiating deals with individual companies and deciding on which deal proved to be more beneficial to the trust ensuring that the equipment met the approved specification for the operation of iBleep and with enough added extra features to enable us to develop the system to our trusts needs over time.”

Staff training

“Staff training and information has been high on the trusts agenda; managing change can always prove difficult, changing a system that staff had become comfortable and reliant on is not without its challenges.

In our experience we were initially met with resistance. The nursing staff expressed concerns that this system was going to be time consuming and complicated, providing a demonstration of the system in action via the secure portal on the web site, dispelled these concerns. The nursing staff actually now feel reassured that this system will save time as they are no longer having to wait for the bleep holder to phone them back which could take up to ten minutes. They can see on the screen of the ward PC, whether the call has been read and who the task has been delegated to and what priority the call is. Many of the staff expressed their opinion that using the traditional bleep system was often frustrating and sometimes concerning. They were not entirely sure the bleep had been received and often ended up bleeping several times, then feeling they had inconvenienced the bleep holder. The iBleep system has reassured the staff that this will dispel the need for multibleeping and the staff feel that they will be more in control of their patient care and that this will also record their actions in reporting the sick unwell patient, helping to protect their accountability.

The doctors can see all the potential benefits that the system can bring such as audits of workloads, monitoring tasks left over from the day shifts and the ability to have an email facility, access to the internet, protocols and policies online, reducing the need to carry endless handbooks around with them.”

Moving forward

“iBleep is an exciting new challenge for the trust with huge potential benefits for both the organisation and improving patient care out of hours. The introduction of this system has already taken months of hard and intense project management. Advice to any trust that would like to introduce the system is to ensure that the project leads for your trust have the time and dedication to commit to this project. It is very challenging and you need to expect to meet opposition in your organisation from very senior stakeholders. Through excellent project management and education programmes the opposition will find it difficult to argue against the huge potential benefits iBleep can bring to the organisation ensuring that patient safety remains the top priority and the hospital @ Night teams remain patient focused and WTD 2009 compliant.”

For more information on iBleep or to discuss implementing it within your organisation, please contact Dan Hughes dan.hughes@skillsforhealth.org.uk  or 0207 953 0225 / 0799 079 6661.