Clinical Demand and Capacity System |

The Clinical Demand and Capacity System takes real-time data feeds from acute provider services and displays calculated metrics for operational and urgent care escalation management. Key metrics are presented in dashboard format for a live view of activity levels across the whole urgent care system.

The system has been running successfully across the Shropshire health economy for the last two years and is an integral part of the day-to-day management of urgent care. It will soon be rolled out across Staffordshire too.

It provides detailed analytical information regarding surges in demand and potential capacity issues, enabling healthcare staff to make key decisions about how to deal with pressures and help deliver improved patient care.

The key metrics currently displayed on the high level dashboard include:

Active ambulance conveyances and mean turnaround times
Number of patients attending A&E in the last 24 hours, including those who have been in A&E for 4 hours and over
Inpatient admissions and discharges in the last 24 hours and preceding 7 days
Number of patients awaiting discharge
Overall bed occupancy levels
All of this information can be explored in even greater depth and detail, in just one click of a mouse.

The system is further enhanced through providing:

Primary care information – tracking the flow of patients, by GP practice, through the urgent care system. GPs can see which patients attend A&E, are admitted to a ward and why. This saves time and shows which patients can be treated in the community, avoiding unnecessary repeat admissions
Predictive data for the next seven days – expected levels of urgent care demand, attendances, admissions and discharges
Historical data – recording the number of patients waiting over 4 hours in A&E on any previous day or across any period of time

As these metrics are common to each provider type, the system is easy to implement and requires no change to working practices or IT infrastructure. It is secure-hosted, web-based and will work on any modern browser.

Leading-edge technology also ensures that it will operate effectively on a smartphone, tablet or desktop device.

We are working on ways to develop new features, such as community datasets, mental health, and social care, and all future upgrades will be incorporated automatically as part of our fully inclusive offer. Due to its flexibility, the system can be adapted to suit the specific needs of any local health economy.

Full project management, training and single point of contact service desk support also comes as part of the package. The system will be hosted via a cloud-based N3 accredited data centre to ensure full resilience and disaster recovery.