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Waikato: All work and no play for attendants on mobiles
All Work and no play for attendants on mobiles
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) recently launched a new integrated system at Waikato Hospital using mobile phone technology to manage services and allocate jobs to attendants to reduce wasted time.
In the past attendants returned to base to get their jobs through a paper-based system, which was extremely inefficient. The new system incorporates mobile phones to allocate the jobs and notify them while they are out in the hospital. The Waiora Waikato Hospital campus is the largest in Australasia, so the opportunity to allocate jobs in this way will result in major productivity gains.
So when you are next at the hospital and see an attendant looking at their mobile phone whilst on the ward they aren't actually using it for personal reasons, they're really working!
This new system was chosen after an extensive search was undertaken by Attendants service manager Steve Coles and team leader Marie Dicks to find a system to support the attendants to make them more efficient, so they spend their time looking after patients, not finding out who needs to be looked after.
The new system is an extension on the existing IS help desk system, Infra service desk software (now VMware Service Manager), which has been in use at Waikato DHB since 2002.
"We wanted a system that would reduce wasted time in walking back and forth to the main attendant room to get jobs and gave us more equitable and smart job allocation and better reporting," said Mr Coles.
"We looked at the various systems across Australia and New Zealand and the best option for us was to extend our existing service desk software with the help of Delta Software who had set up our existing system. This gave us a customisable solution which we were able to adapt to specifically meet our needs."
The project has also developed, with big picture efficiencies in mind, to provide advances for other departments, streamlining their processes and switching them from paper forms to computer-based processes.
"The integration of mobile phones into the system was rolled out on Monday 3rd October and is still in the training/teething phase," he said.
"Once the new system is fully up and running, we will continue the service improvements in radiology, ED and theatre. All these improvements are being carried out with only one purpose: to ensure we give the best possible care for our patients.
"The whole project is a big step forward in automating how things are done at the Waikato DHB and there has been a real commitment from everyone involved," says David Gandar, managing director of Delta Software.
"Delta Software is delighted to have been a part of this process."
Waikato District Health
Board
Waikato DHB is responsible for planning,
funding and providing quality health and disability support
services for the 365,300 people living in the Waikato DHB
region. It has an annual turnover of $1.2 billion and
employs more than 6000
people.
ENDS
Waikato District Health Board
Healthy People. Excellent Care
Waikato District Health Board (DHB) employs over 6500 people and plans, funds and provides hospital and health services to more than 391,770 people in a region covering eight per cent of New Zealand.
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