ReStart Links North Tees and Hartlepool to the Great North Care Record
North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust (NTHFT) has partnered with ReStart to deliver integration into the Great North Care Record. To support the expansion of the shared care record across the North East, ReStart has provided interfaces from NTHFT Health Connect Integration Engine to provide patient demographic, visit, appointment and allergy information into the Great North Care Record.
Operating in the North of England and North Cumbria, covering a population of 3.6 million, the Great North Care Record is supported by the Cerner Health Information Exchange (HIE). It electronically connects patient information from GPs, local hospitals, social care, community and mental health teams.
Paul Savage, Project Manager, Digital Programmes, North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, confirms, “While we were able to quickly access information from the HIE, it is really important for each Trust to contribute patient information to the HIE. By providing a rich picture of each individual across both health and social services, the Great North Care Record will deliver the holistic information of patient interactions across the region that will enable a more rounded approach to patient care.”
With limited internal interoperability and configuration skills, NTHFT engaged ReStart to partner with the Trust to provide information to the HIE. Project Management was shared between NTHFT and ReStart, with continuous communication ensuring progress remained on track.
Paul Savage confirms, “One of the challenges was a tight deadline. Planned upgrades to the HIE between April 2021 and July 2021 meant a complete development freeze – we had to get our interfaces up and running by the end of March 2021 or wait several months. Further delays caused by upgrades to the hardware at NTHFT meant we were really pushed against that deadline. ReStart was excellent at managing the process and ensuring we went live on time.”
Expanding the Shared Care Record
NTHFT is now one of eight Trusts, as well as all GPs in the North East Cumbria region, contributing to the Great North Care Record. Looking ahead, the Trust plans to share documents, discharge summaries as well as pathology and radiology results to enhance the pool of patient information further.
With interoperability key to the NHS Digital agenda, the Trust is keen to build up its internal skills base – and has turned to ReStart for mentoring and training. Paul Savage confirms, “Further interoperability will be a foundation for the Trust’s ongoing digital vision and delivery – for example, there’ll be greater collaboration with South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. ReStart’s training, mentoring, and knowledge transfer will help us to take a more complete view of the Trust’s interoperability goals, rather than looking at each individual requirement separately.”
Mike Fitzgerald, Head of Technical Business Development, ReStart, says. “As interoperability requirements continue to expand throughout the NHS, it is important for Trusts to build confidence and knowledge to support strategic direction. NTHFT’s partnership with ReStart has not just provided essential interfaces with the Great North Care Record but also access to our IMX suite of services and solutions which offer a seamless way to embrace and scale interoperability across a wider health and social care community. As the largest provider of NHS integration resources and managed services, through IMX, ReStart has a strong track record and excellent experience in delivering integration, migration and education services.”
For more information on ReStart’s services, support and interoperability solutions, please get in touch.
