London hospital launches
ambitious project to optimise
the use of technology and
improve patient care with
Dell Services
• Services
“The changes we’re about
to make based on Dell
Services’ recommendations
will bring many benefits to
patients through improved
communication, increased
productivity and better use
of resources.”
Stuart Black, Chief Business Architect,
Bupa Cromwell Hospital
Customer profile
Company: Bupa Cromwell Hospital
Industry: Healthcare
Country: United Kingdom
Employees: 570
Website: www.cromwellhospital.com
Business need
Bupa Cromwell wanted to enhance the patient experience by
supporting better communication between staff, using resources
such as medical equipment and beds more effectively, and improving
productivity.
Solution
Certain that a new hospital information system (HIS) would help
achieve these goals, Bupa Cromwell engaged Dell Services to conduct
a detailed needs assessment and define a solution.
Benefits
• Hospital gains trusted advisor in
Dell Services
• Detailed assessment process builds
scope for new hospital information
system
• Enhanced information system will
help hospital improve outcomes
• Hospital minimises project risks
with informed decisions
Bupa Cromwell Hospital has been providing primary care, health screening
and walk-in family medicine services since 1981. It has 128 beds and employs
400 consultants, many of whom attend the city’s top teaching hospitals.
The hospital’s specialties include oncology, cardiology and paediatrics.
“We liked the fact that
the Dell Services
engagement was not
orientated towards any
particular technology
or vendor.”
Stuart Black,
Chief Business Architect,
Bupa Cromwell Hospital
The hospital aspires to the highest
levels of patient care, with a rigorous
approach to clinical governance and
an ongoing quality improvement
programme covering infection control,
patient feedback and other critical
aspects of care delivery.
A forward-looking approach to
technology is vital to Bupa Cromwell
Hospital’s continuing commitment
to excellent care and its status as one
of London’s most popular private
hospitals. When the management
team wanted to implement a new
Hospital Information System (HIS), it
realised that expert input was required
to create a detailed, accurate picture
of the hospital’s requirements and
its readiness for change. Stuart
Black, Chief Business Architect, Bupa
Cromwell Hospital, says: “Broadly
speaking, we wanted an HIS that
would create an improved patient
and consultant experience, and help
us further enhance our standards of
patient care. We were aware that we
didn’t necessarily have the skills to
know what our detailed requirements
should be or who within the
marketplace we should consider as a
technology partner. Getting objective,
trustworthy, structured advice from an
experienced consultancy provider was
our first step.”
Hospital gains trusted
advisor in Dell Services
Black and his colleagues wanted
a framework that would map the
hospital’s strategic goals to specific
capabilities, in turn linking these to
technical features or systems.
“Based on a positive experience in
an earlier project, we asked Dell
Services to help us. We talked to
another potential partner, but we had
a good feeling about working with
Dell Services because the consultants
clearly had our interests at heart,” says
Black. Bupa Cromwell Hospital also
required demonstrable healthcare
experience. “Our trust in Dell
Services was reinforced by the
extensive intellectual property it
owned, based on numerous
hospital projects,” he says.
The two organisations agreed that the
Dell Services team, which included the
Dell Chief Medical Officer and Chief
Technology Officer, would gather and
document the hospital’s requirements.
They would then pin down the
solution’s core components.
Bupa Cromwell Hospital was to
manage the vendor selection process
and implementation. “It was important
to us, as a business unit within Bupa,
to lead the project after the due
diligence phase. Dell Services gave
us detailed, objective guidance that
empowered us to make the right
decisions and secured the support
of our stakeholders,” Black says.
Detailed assessment process
builds scope for new HIS
“We couldn’t mitigate
against the risks of the
project until we knew
what they were. Dell
Services gave us the
insight we needed,
and the confidence
to move ahead.”
Stuart Black,
Chief Business Architect,
Bupa Cromwell Hospital
The first step for Dell Services was
to talk to each user group within the
hospital. This due diligence process
created an understanding of their roles
and the changes that would help them
optimise patient care.
The consultants conducted 84
workshops with 100 staff, including
clinicians, administrative staff,
technical staff and management.
The process followed Dell Services’
SCORE framework for healthcare
organisations, meaning that the
consultants assessed Bupa Cromwell
Hospital’s needs based on:
•
•
•
•
•
Safety and quality
Clinical adoption
Operation efficiency
Return on investment
Evidence-based decision-making
“We started off with a broad picture
of what we needed to achieve, but
the level of investigation and analysis
required to turn this into specifics
was enormous. Dell Services gave us
a structured set of deliverables with
defined outcomes,” says Black.
Recommendations included a
single scheduling system across all
departments to give staff greater
visibility and prevent conflicting
appointments. This would improve
communication and patient
satisfaction, optimise use of clinical
capacity and save staff time.
The HIS will also deliver electronic
patient records. This alternative to
paper-based records gives multiple
care providers a simultaneous
real-time view, supporting better
collaboration and decision-making.
“The solution will open the door to
further innovation. For example, we’re
looking at the installation of screens
in each patient room so staff can
access patient records at the point-ofcare without having to carry a device,”
says Black.
Hospital minimises project
risks with informed decisions
The process gave Stuart and his
colleagues the insight they needed to
set the project in motion. “We have
big ambitions – we wanted to get to
a place that we couldn’t get to on our
own. Dell Services proved to be the
right partner to take us there,” he says.
In particular, the documentation
gave Black and his colleagues an
understanding of how much time
technical staff would need to commit
to the implementation, and how other
staff might be affected by the process.
Black says: “We couldn’t mitigate
against the risks of the project until
we knew what they were. Dell Services
gave us the insight we needed, and
the confidence to move ahead.” For
example, discussions between the
two teams looked at how to minimise
unexpected costs, how to schedule
the deployment, which elements
would provide the foundation
for others, and which offered the
most value.
On completion of the due diligence
process and review by Bupa Cromwell
Hospital, Dell Services provided a list
of potential solution providers. “We
liked the fact that the Dell Services
engagement was not orientated
towards any particular technology or
vendor,” says Black.
“Our trust in Dell
Services was reinforced
by the extensive
intellectual property
it owned, based on
numerous hospital
projects.”
Stuart Black,
Chief Business Architect,
Bupa Cromwell Hospital
Having successfully taken the
framework to market and appointed
a solution provider, the hospital plans
to start the deployment process
soon. Black says: “The changes
we’re about to make based on Dell
Services’ recommendations will bring
many benefits to patients through
improved communication, increased
productivity and better use of
resources. We see Dell Services as a
trusted advisor – and that’s something
you have to earn.”
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© December 2010, Dell Inc. Dell is a trademark of Dell Inc. This case study is for informational purposes only.
dell makes no warranties, express or implied, in this case study. Reference number: 10008910.