Addressing the Crisis: Safer Unplanned Care Solutions to Ease Staff Workload and Stress

In response to NHS England’s new guidance on monitoring patient harm in unplanned settings like corridors and temporary escalation spaces (TES), Isansys Lifecare fully supports the call for better oversight and enhanced patient safety measures. With increasing pressures on the healthcare system, particularly in winter, this guidance is crucial for safeguarding patient outcomes in these challenging environments.

NHS England’s recognition that corridor care, while sometimes unavoidable, must not be normalised is an essential first step towards addressing the crisis. Isansys is committed to helping NHS trusts meet these guidelines by offering innovative solutions to ensure patient safety wherever care is delivered.

Enhancing Patient Care with Continuous Monitoring

At the core of our solution is the Patient Status Engine (PSE), an advanced patient monitoring system which provides continuous, real-time monitoring of vital signs. The PSE directly supports NHS England’s efforts to mitigate the risks associated with corridor care and other unplanned settings by delivering several essential benefits:

• Real-Time Monitoring and Alerts: The PSE ensures that patients in unplanned settings are never left without comprehensive monitoring. Its automated platform monitors key health metrics and sends real-time alerts to healthcare staff if any deterioration is detected. This technology ensures that patients, even in corridors, are continuously and reliably monitored, preventing gaps in care.
• Comprehensive Data Collection: With the PSE, trusts can generate and report both quantitative and qualitative data on patient safety and outcomes. This helps them comply with NHS England’s requirement to monitor potential harms, assess actual incidents, and evaluate the impact of TES on patients and staff. By providing this data, the PSE enables trusts to make real-time decisions and take proactive steps to improve patient care.
• Maintaining Privacy and Dignity: The PSE supports NHS England’s guidance on upholding the privacy, dignity, and well-being of patients in unplanned settings. Wireless, automated, real-time, continuous monitoring means that patients receive the same level of high-quality surveillance as they would in a high dependency environment, ensuring they are regularly assessed and that nursing staff have the time to attend to their basic needs - like access to sleep, bathrooms, and meals.

Addressing Winter Pressures and Improving Care Delivery

As NHS England prepares for the increased pressures of winter, the PSE offers a solution to help manage high patient volumes and the strain on emergency care services. The system can assist with:

• Effective Escalation Management: Real-time insights into patient conditions allow healthcare teams to better manage the use of temporary spaces, ensuring that these areas are used only during peak pressure times and for the shortest duration necessary.
• Relieving Staff Burdens: The PSE automates patient monitoring, which frees up valuable time for healthcare professionals. This reduces the manual workload on nursing staff, allowing them to focus on vital care tasks while maintaining high safety standards for patients.

Collaborating for the Future of Patient Safety

Isansys Lifecare is committed to collaborating with NHS trusts across the UK to deliver solutions that align with NHS England’s directives for safe and effective care. We believe that real-time, automated monitoring is essential for managing the challenges posed by unplanned settings and seasonal surges in patient numbers.

We invite NHS trusts to explore how the Patient Status Engine can integrate into their current systems to support winter preparedness and help comply with the latest NHS England guidance and discover how real-time data plays a crucial role in enhancing safety in healthcare: Watch here.

For more information on how Isansys can assist with your monitoring needs and enhance patient care, please contact us: info@isansys.com.