North Bristol NHS Trust has used digital pre-operative assessment platform, Synopsis, to help keep staff safe and working from home while enabling the Trust to effectively process the significant backlog of operations that were postponed as a result of Covid-19.
The Trust deployed Synopsis iQ in 2018 as part of a transformation project to digitise the pre-operative assessment pathway, with Synopsis Home being deployed in 2020 to enable patients to complete pre-operative health questionnaires from home.
During 2021, Synopsis has supported hospital staff involved in the pre-operative process to assess, manage and triage patients while working from home using remote access.
Commenting on how Synopsis is supporting Trust staff, Mike Whitmore, Programme Manager at North Bristol NHS Trust said:
“Synopsis has enabled a member of our staff who is pregnant and shielding from COVID-19 to continue working her usual shift pattern, as she can use Synopsis securely from home. Without Synopsis, this member of staff would not have been unable to continue assessing and triaging patients ahead of their scheduled surgery.
“This would have inevitably hindered our pre-operative assessment capacity, at a time when all Trusts are facing a significant backlog of elective surgeries, due to the slow down / cancellation of operations in response to COVID.”
Tori Dand, Head of Projects at Synopsis, said: “Throughout Covid, Synopsis Home has been supporting patients and staff at North Bristol with infection control by reducing unnecessary hospital appointments. Patients only need to attend hospital ahead of their surgery if a face-to-face appointment is necessary as they can complete their pre-operative health questionnaire from home and then share the results of that questionnaire directly with the triage team.
“What is just as pleasing to see though is how Synopsis has been supporting staff to continue with their roles even if they are required to shield or work from home in isolation. Traditionally, with a paper pre-operative process, this would have been impossible. This is a brilliant example of the power of digital transformation – and how it benefits both clinicians and patients.”
