Bristol buys Civica’s Housing CX
Bristol City Council has signed up to use the Housing CX web-enabled housing management application from public service software provider Civica.
It will be integrated into the city council’s digital platform and support initiatives to provide better online services for the public and suppliers.
This follows the integration of Civica’s portfolio of housing management systems with those from Keystone Asset Management Solutions after the recent acquisition of the latter company. Keystone’s product is used by more than 130 organisations.
Civica said that Clanmill Housing Association has also recently signed up to use Housing Cx. Contract wins earlier this year include Fife and Monmouthshire Councils.
Health Fabric launches app for care plans
Software company Health Fabric has created an app to help create and manage personalised care plans.
Named Health Fabric Store, it makes it possible to set goals and actions and provide supporting information to help patients manage long term conditions such as diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Plans can be translated into a care diary with a set of reminders and other essential data and activities that the patient and clinician can use together to help better manage their care.
The MyHealthFabric app can be downloaded through Google Play and iTunes, and is available on the NHS Health Apps library.
Satnam Bains, chief executive officer of Health Fabric, said: “Many people want to be more involved with their own care. This technology bridges the gap between patient and provider by using clinically relevant care plans and translating them into patient-centric healthcare information and activities.”
Calderdale chooses i-Trent HR platform
Calderdale Council has signed up to use Midland HR’s iTrent cloud platform for its talent management, workforce planning, HR and payroll. The council will use the solution to provide support for 8,500 employees.
Councillor Bryan Smith, Calderdale’s cabinet member for business improvement and resources, said: “We are looking forward to reaping the benefits of a fully integrated solution, reducing paperwork and duplication of data entry. This will help us save time and money across the council, ultimately leading to more streamlined, quality services for residents.”
Cambridge Hospitals integrate mobile into EMR
Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) NHS Foundation Trust has begun to provide its clinical and frontline staff at Addenbrooke’s and Rosie Hospitals with access to integrated patient data using the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system.
It has been supported by HP Enterprise Services in feeding data from medical and pathology devices and physiological monitors into the EMR, enabling clinicians to see notes from ongoing operations in real time. Laboratory orders and results are integrated into the pathology systems, and automated workflows push urgent results to clinical staff. This all helps to create a ‘paper lite’ environment.
A 21,000-port HP network with 1,300 wireless access points supports mobile working throughout the hospital campus, while a bring-your-own-device capability for up to 3,725 users allows CUH’s clinicians to securely access applications from their own devices both within the hospital and externally. HP Managed Print Services allow staff to print from any enabled HP printer, wherever they are on the CUH site.
There are also 6,000 new clinical desktops along with 400 laptops, 500 handheld devices and 400 workstations on wheels to support staff.
Axelos extends PRINCE2 to agile
Axelos has launched a new best practice framework that combines PRINCE2 project management with agile methodology.
The joint venture between the Cabinet Office and Capita has made PRINCE2 Agile available with training, an examination and a globally recognised qualification. It said there has been a 10% increase in practitioner exposure to agile methodology over the past 12 months, and that its research indicates this is part of a global trend, but that the lack of governance had presented a barrier to its take-up.
The move could allay concerns expressed by some public sector leaders that there are difficulties in combining the PRINCE2 framework with an agile approach. There have been claims that problems with the IT elements of the Universal Credit programme derive from the software being developed using agile while the approach was not used for the whole programme.
Peter Hepworth, chief executive officer at Axelos, said: “Organisations that adopt agile processes benefit from being able to deliver ‘early and often’ so can start generating returns on their investment much earlier than competitors who are yet to take advantage of the flexibility and responsiveness of agile.”
