How LIMA delivered an optimal solution for one NHS trust’s transformation journey.

Helping provide mobility, scalability and agility.

LIMA support Gloucestershire NHS Trust on their journey to outstanding patient care

For healthcare professionals, accessing patient information at any time from any device is not nice to have – it’s critical. With video consultations routine¹ and digital apps fast-tracked by the NHS², Trusts are under pressure to deliver better patient outcomes via digital transformation – regardless of how difficult external conditions may be. 

Effective transformation requires more than digital files and smart devices. With the NHS employing >1.1 million people³ – including staff now working from home – Trusts are striving to simplify operations while managing multiple complexities: 

Preparing for the unknown 

While the impact of the pandemic is still being measured it has taught us that we need to prepare for the unexpected. In the context of a Trust’s digital transformation strategy, it must now include how to

• Provide the community with access to appropriate care regardless of the location of patients, clinicians or information 
• Enable clinicians to effectively interact with patients, colleagues and data 
• Deliver a network that can securely provide continuity of care in any context 

Network topology 

With the network edge extending to smartphones and home Wi-Fi, and millions of patient records undergoing digitisation, network management is a challenging task. Current guidance recommends basing administrative, primary and outpatient care from home wherever possible⁴. This means IT teams have network points to manage that were previously not their responsibility. 

Safety and security 

The cyberattack of 2017 impacted one-in-five Trusts⁵ and highlighted how attractive a target the NHS is for cybercriminals. An expanded network presents a larger threat surface which leads to IT teams, patients and Trust boards requiring assurance that any solution has the ability to protect all network assets and access to services. 

Placing your trust in the right platform 

By combining our experience in the UK healthcare sector with VMware’s capabilities, LIMA can help NHS Trusts deliver on their commitments to improving patient care. Using one of the leading Trusts we work with – Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – as an example, here’s how we addressed the three key challenges: 

Adapting the long-term vision for an unpredictable reality 

With 8,000 users across multiple sites, the vision of Gloucestershire NHS is to deliver outstanding patient care. Fulfilling that vision relies upon the following elements: 

• Acquiring a hyper-converged platform to dynamically and efficiently deploy IT resources 
• Adopting an electronic patient records system 
• Delivering secure, fully redundant access to IT systems 

 LIMA identified VMware Cloud Foundation as the best solution to support the Trust’s desire for a hyper-converged platform that would support its 50+ critical clinical systems and the requirements of different user types. This decision also meant the Trust could rapidly roll-out 2,000 new virtual desktops to support mass remote working – something that had been unthinkable a few weeks earlier. 

A perfectly balanced network 

Supported by VMware specialists, LIMA delivered a network where every element was fine-tuned for performance – in this case, vSAN storage technology, NSX Data Center networking and vRealize Suite for management and automation. This gave Gloucestershire NHS the ability to:

• Proactively identify and fix issues before they impacted end users 
• Offer true high availability and redundancy across their sites 
• Move to the cloud in a modular fashion 

“VMware Cloud Foundation means care is no longer limited to a paper set of notes. With electronic patient records, we have the ability to make care better for every patient, every day” – Tim Mullan IT Transformation Programme Lead, Gloucestershire NHS Foundation Trust

Protecting patients in more ways than one 

With responsibility for sensitive information relating to tens of thousands of patients and a need to avoid the disruption to care that a cyberattack could cause, enterprise-level security was key. With NSX Data Center in place, Gloucestershire NHS can protect its entire environment against attacks by using soft firewalls that ensure network communication only occurs between servers and users that are authorised by their IT and network security teams. From clinicians being able to access patient records from any location or device, through to ward managers reporting the elimination of errors caused by illegible handwriting, LIMA using VMware Cloud Foundation has provided the backbone upon which the Trust can deliver tangible improvements in patient and clinician experience. 

 How can LIMA help?  

 The technology services on which the NHS run are critical to all of us. Balancing the need for performance and availability against the pressures for effective security and limited resources are key challenges in the Healthcare sector and ones we are experienced in navigating with our customers. 

Our capabilities cover the full IT portfolio: cloud and managed service, enterprise networking and data centres, enabling us to provide solutions to some of the biggest technology challenges affecting the healthcare sector. Click here to find out more. 

Sources: 

1. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/nhs-services/gps/gp-online-and-video-consultations/
2. https://healthtech.blog.gov.uk/2020/03/26/rollout-of-video-consultation-across-general-practice/
3. https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/nhs-workforce-statistics/july2020
4. https://www.nhsemployers.org/covid19/health-safety-and-wellbeing/supporting-staff-at-homeandwork/enabling-and-supporting-staff-to-work-from-home
5. https://www.themedicportal.com/blog/nhs-cyber-attack-what-you-need-to-know/

Gloucestershire NHS rolls out electronic patient records system to provide care for the next generation of patients

Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust needed to modernise its data centre platform as the first step toward building an electronic patient record system infrastructure. The hospital trust turned to LIMA Networks for help. LIMA identified that VMware Cloud Foundation^™ offered an optimal solution. Its expertise ensured the trust deployed the new platform in just nine months.

For doctors and nurses, accessing patient information at any time from any location is not just a nice to have. It’s critical. To work more smartly, they need to be able to find out everything they need to know about their patients from anywhere in the building, or even from home.

And that means moving away from paper records that could only ever be accessed by one person in one place at any one time. It means avoiding handwritten records with sometimes illegible handwriting that can lead to medical errors.

A journey to outstanding patient care

With two main sites in Gloucester and Cheltenham, Gloucestershire NHS provides high-quality healthcare for the entire population of Gloucestershire. The NHS trust of around 8,000 staff offers a wide range of specialist hospital services.

The trust understands the essential and increasing role digital plays in healthcare. That’s why its five-year strategic plan, called Our Journey to Outstanding, lays out a program to transform patient care through technology. The significant digital transformation aims to provide care for the next generation of patients.

Implementing electronic patient records was to be the first step on that journey. But finding a robust and resilient route to the cloud was a challenge. After all, while the IT engineers at Gloucestershire NHS manage the trust’s IT system day-to-day, identifying and deploying a new solution would be more challenging.

Innovating at speed

Gloucestershire NHS turned to solutions partner LIMA Networks. With a portfolio that spans from the data centre, cloud, and managed services to security and performance monitoring, LIMA has been at the forefront of understanding how technology can transform business since 1997.

To identify an optimal solution for its clients, LIMA’s team of dedicated experts really listened to the NHS trust’s requirements and paid attention to what they were trying to do. LIMA identified that VMware Cloud Foundation offered the perfect backbone for the suite of products Gloucestershire NHS is delivering as part of its digital transformation. The modern hybrid-cloud solution combines VMware vSAN^™ storage technology, VMware NSX® Data Center networking, and VMware vRealize® Suite for management and automation:

• vSAN provides the ideal storage platform to power VMware Cloud Foundation as a full-stack hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) solution

• NSX Data Center provides enterprise-level security, ensuring the trust can protect patient data against cyberattacks aimed at legacy platforms, for instance

• vRealize Suite combines automation and operations capabilities for a hybrid-cloud environment. Its dashboarding provides deep intelligence on what’s happening on the platform.

“It became apparent very early on that VMware Cloud Foundation ticked the key boxes for Gloucestershire NHS in terms of its transformation journey,” explains Mark Howie, account director at LIMA Networks. “We helped them and supported them in the migration of the existing application platform and once some of the older infrastructure had been retired, they were then in a position to accommodate the rollout of electronic patient records.”

VMware provided the technology and vision and began the architectural process. LIMA provided the implementation experience and expertise. LIMA devoted a network specialist, a server infrastructure specialist, and a VMware specialist to work with Gloucestershire NHS. The team spent 100 percent of its time on the project.

LIMA’s level of expertise meant the NHS trust wasn’t deploying the solution blind; its commitment was critical to Gloucestershire NHS moving at pace – the trust deployed the new solutions within nine months.

“I don’t see how we could have delivered this project without a knowledgeable and committed solutions partner like LIMA,” says Tim Mullan, IT transformation program lead at Gloucestershire NHS.

Want to find out more or read this later? Click here to download the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust case study to find out more about how LIMA helped roll out a new electronic patient records system to provide care for the next generation of patients.

The perfect partner for an ambitious journey

Today VMware Cloud Foundation provides a robust and resilient platform to support the trust’s digital transformation and, specifically, its new electronic patient record system. Moreover, when the trust had to facilitate remote working during the COVID-19 pandemic, VMware Cloud Foundation provided the basis to give staff remote access to carry on working from their homes.

When Gloucestershire NHS embarked on its Journey to Outstanding, it knew it would be working with its solutions partner for a minimum of three – and probably five – years. LIMA has proved to be the perfect partner to guide and assist the NHS trust in its program to provide care for the next generation of patients.

Click here to find out more about how LIMA can help you on your journey to the cloud. Or you can follow us on Linkedin to stay up to date with the latest news and industry updates from LIMA. 

Meet our speakers | Top NHS CIO and VMware’s Chief Technologist feature in our exclusive NHS webinar

We’re delighted to introduce the expert speakers featuring in our exclusive Q&A webinar on Gloucestershire NHS Trust’s journey from IT laggard to award-winning digital aspirant.

Gloucestershire Hospitals’ large-scale digital transformation programme enabled the Trust to roll out an Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system in five months, supported over 500 clinical systems and allowed 2000 people to transition to remote working, almost overnight.

Mark Hutchinson, Chief Digital and Information Officer at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Martin Hosken, Chief Technologist of Cloud Services at VMware will discuss how working with LIMA led to a successful digital transformation programme using VMware’s Cloud Foundation.

Meet the speakers

Mark Hutchinson joined Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust as the Chief Digital and Information Officer in October 2018. During his 22 years working in Acute NHS Hospitals, Mark has been involved in several ground-breaking projects delivering large scale, complex transformational projects.

Mark’s previous experience saw him implement England’s first Telemedicine system in Airedale NHS Trust, delivered electronic patient records at Salford Royal Foundation Trust (awarded Global Digital Exemplar status) and delivered the first electronic patient record at Wythenshawe Hospital.

Passionate about how well-implemented technology can improve the safety and reliability of patient care, Mark has most recently delivered the fastest UK implementation of an EPR system at Gloucestershire Hospitals.

Since becoming CDIO, he has championed investment in accelerating digital change. The success of Gloucestershire Hospitals’ digital transformation programme has accelerated the need for more agile access to systems, providing clinicians with live patient data whenever they need it and in turn ensuring that all patients receive the best care.

Their long-term aim is to provide agile and mobile computing experiences to colleagues to meet the expectations set with the implementation of their EPR, encouraging collaboration with colleagues across Gloucestershire’s health community and delivering better outcomes for all.

Mark’s achievements in Gloucestershire Hospitals include:

• Delivered the fastest implementation of an EPR system in the UK.
• Planned a clear roadmap to HIMSS level 7 in five years.
• Featured in the CIO Top 100 in 2020, shortlisted for HTN Leader of the Year 2020.
• Increased investment in digital and IT with board and executive support.
• Improvements in business intelligence and reporting, significant improvements in data quality.
• The rapid rollout of remote working capability during the pandemic.
• HTN award winner for Major Project Go Live (EPR) and Best use of Data (Covid-19 dashboard).

Martin Hosken is the Chief Technologist for Cloud Services at VMware. Having worked for VMware for over 7 years, Martin works at the evolution of VMware Cloud Services, the intersection where IT architecture, solution architecture and software development meet.

His primary focus is on cutting edge solutions in today’s complex cloud market and helping customers and partners prepare to make the most of the opportunities presented by emerging technology and software development practices.

His role leads on providing the intersection between research and development, engineering and sales functions helps organisations like the NHS deliver solutions that are innovative and align with their cloud strategy.

Martin is a double VMware certified design expert in Data Centre Virtualisation, Cloud Management and Automation. He has been awarded the annual VMware vExpert title for the past seven years. Amongst his achievements, Martin is an author of three books, dozens of papers, blogs and articles based on cloud technologies.

Register to hear from tech experts at our exclusive Q&A

Don’t forget to register your place for our exclusive Q&A with technology experts Mark Hutchinson and Martin Hosken. Click below to secure your virtual seat.

Can’t make the date? Don’t worry, simply register your interest in the event below and we’ll send you a copy of the recording and all of the supporting documents.

When: Tuesday 14 September 2021, 11.30am – 12.30pm.
Where: Click here to secure your virtual seat.

LIMA is an insight-led, strategic IT partner with vast experience in supporting NHS Trusts for the past 10 years on digital transformation programmes that enable resilience, optimisation and growth. Click here to speak to one of our Account Directors to find out more.