Quicksilva, an independent supplier of healthcare IT systems is providing real-time access to the NHS Personal Demographic Service (PDS) for the North East Ambulance Service Foundation Trust (NEAS). NEAS’s 111 Service evaluation project has been able provide the entire North East region with access to patient records in real-time to allow instant verification of NHS numbers whilst the caller is still on the line, helping staff to provide a quicker, more efficient service.
NHS 111 replaces the current 0845 service and it is expected that as a result ambulances will only be sent to those in need of emergency care as a priority, and that those with non-critical illnesses will be advised on the best care for the patient.

There are 11 pilot schemes in the UK, but only two are currently operating with real-time PDS look-up. Other pilots are still using old batch-tracing methods, which are more time-consuming and often mean patients need to be called back. 

Quicksilva’s orQestra® will provide back-end connectivity to ensure that call handlers can identify patients within minutes of the call being taken.

Steven Pratt, IT Systems Manager at NEAS said: “orQestra has been purchased to provide the immediate requirement to enable the new NEAS NHS 111 offering to be able to assess the NHS Spine for PDS to enable the ability to improve patient data quality to produce verified NHS numbers. This North East contract was successfully won in 2012. As such, NEAS have continued to lead the way on how they deal with assessing patients’ needs through the continued use of NHS Pathways and the enhancement of their directory of services which they expect to prove invaluable in sourcing the most appropriate care for their patients.”

orQestra® is the only end-to-end service to be accredited under NHS Connecting for Health’s Interoperability ToolKit (ITK) Accreditation Configuration, ‘ITK Spine Mini Service’ deployed throughout the NHS to connect Trusts and healthcare providers to ensure patient data is available via the Personal Demographics Service (PDS). Its selection in support of the new 111 non-emergency number is a further application of orQestra® which could in future be rolled out to other blue light services such as the Police and Fire Service.

Gayna Hart, Managing Director of Quicksilva said: “It is vital that call handlers have access to the right data when managing 111 calls. They need to make split second decisions and having access to the Spine PDS in real-time is vital if that’s to happen. We’re seeing great results from the use of orQestra® with one hospital service running around 3500 queries in less than an hour – and with a 99.6% validation rate it’s no wonder they are reporting very early payback periods. We have had days when they have validated around 7000 patients. The benefits of the solution in healthcare scenarios are significant, and we believe there’s potential for this solution to be used across other emergency services, NHS and social care as well.”

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Ambulance, UK, Patient, Data Quicksilva, an independent supplier of healthcare IT systems is providing real-time access to the NHS Personal Demographic Service (PDS) for the North East...