How we work
Our structured service delivery cycle applies consistently across all our offerings, whether we’re developing resources, implementing digital solutions, delivering training, or creating bespoke systems. This approach ensures a thorough, collaborative, and effective process for achieving your objectives.
Take a moment to relax and see how we bring our most exciting projects to life in this video.
Optimisation
Optimisation and transformation are key to ongoing improvement and reducing resource burdens. Our Clinical Systems Specialist team continually research with the latest information from national bodies and system suppliers to deliver current advice and support to GP practices. We offer clinical system optimisations through both on-site support and remote training sessions.
Our optimisation service helps practices fully utilise clinical system functionalities, offering:
Training Needs Analysis to maximise system usage.
System Configuration Guidance for optimal performance.
Process Review to streamline efficiency.
Best Practice Sharing for proven methods.
New Functionality Updates on the latest features.
The Clinical System User Groups are crucial for fostering collaboration and sharing workflow improvement tips. They provide a valuable platform to connect with other practices, receive updates on new developments, and gain insights from clinical system experts and guest speakers.
Valens Medical Partnership: Optimising Patient Registration with SystmOne
Valens Medical Partnership partnered with the Clinical Systems Specialist Team to improve their patient registration process using the SystmOne clinical system. The project aimed to streamline workflows, eliminate inefficiencies, and ensure a consistent and complete registration process.
A detailed analysis of the existing workflow highlighted challenges such as time-consuming navigation between system sections and occasional missed steps. By identifying these inefficiencies, the team developed a custom protocol within SystmOne, automating and guiding users through each step of the registration process. This protocol included mandatory checkpoints and optional steps for flexibility, significantly reducing manual errors and enhancing the process’s reliability.
The results were impressive: the automated navigation saved time, made the process more robust, and improved overall accuracy. This streamlined approach not only optimised patient registration at Valens Medical Partnership but also showcased the potential of SystmOne to enhance other operational workflows, contributing to greater efficiency and patient service.
Training
The NECS Clinical Systems Specialists team provides a comprehensive GPIT training service to nearly 500 practices across North East England, North Yorkshire, and Derbyshire, supporting TPP SystmOne and EMIS Web users.
The team address training challenges by offering specialised courses for new starters and skill enhancement for existing staff. Our accredited “Train the Trainer” team delivers over 4,000 remote course places annually, ensuring flexibility and convenience. Additionally, we offer a robust eLearning platform with user guides, resources, and self-paced modules.
Bespoke training sessions tailored to customer needs are available remotely via Microsoft Teams and can be requested through our Service Desk. Continuous feedback is collected to refine and improve our courses.
Care Homes: Improving Workflows with SystmOne
This project aimed to enhance the workflows of four care homes by implementing improvements based on a comprehensive business analysis.
The NECS CSS team gained access to the care homes’ SystmOne unit and collaborated with care home services to set up appropriate caseloads. A trainer guided the project manager through the process of creating bulk referrals from GP practices to the new SystmOne unit, ensuring all care home patients were transferred accurately.
Once the referrals were received, patients were assigned to the correct caseloads, improving management and reporting. Staff underwent thorough training on the new system and processes, with administrators receiving additional support to generate reports and maintain data quality. This enabled staff to independently manage the new SystmOne unit and patient records effectively.
The results were clear: care homes could now manage patient cohorts, track referrals, and operate independently from GP practices. This project was successfully completed on time, achieving its goals of improving efficiency and freeing up GP staff for other tasks.
Data Quality
The Primary Care Data Quality service proactively engages with customers to establish and maintain strong working processes, aligned with the Data Quality Assurance Framework (DQAF) and the NHS GPIT Operating Model.
Our data quality experts offer specialised training, support and guidance across various activities, with access to the learning management system for upcoming courses and resources.
The team develop tailored Data Quality Action and Improvement Plans (DQA&IPs) based on identified priorities, focusing on accuracy, validity, reliability, timeliness, relevance, and completeness.
To enhance data collection, the team provide standardised clinical system resources, including templates, protocols, and reporting tools, tailored to the needs of our customer groups requests.
Type 2 Diabetes Remission Programme Referrals
The OVIVA Type 2 Diabetes Remission Program, in partnership with the NHS, offers a 12-month program focused on lifestyle education, weight loss, and personalised coaching. Collaborating with the NECS Primary Care Data Quality Team and Dr. T Milligan, the initiative streamlined patient identification and referrals using SystmOne and standardised resources, to aid referrals to the service.
- Working with key stakeholders to define project goals and construct an implementation plan.
- Developed reports to identify eligible patients.
- Integrated a protocol in the EHR for timely patient identification.
- Created an EHR referral template for efficient OVIVA referrals.
- Shared resources with GP practices for ease of use.
Results: The project was nationally recognised, becoming a top-five finalist at the Innovate Awards. Research in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology highlights the program’s potential as it expands NHS-wide from April 2024. Between September 2020 and 2022, 7,540 people were referred, with early participants losing over 10 kg on average in one year. The national rollout aims to support over 25,000 participants with structured weight loss and lifestyle support.
Find out more information here:
Support
The NECS Clinical Systems Specialist team provides comprehensive second-line support from Monday to Friday, with accredited specialists available to quickly resolve clinical system issues via telephone, email, or our digital workplace platform.
To keep GP practices up to date, our team participates in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) days and collaborates with stakeholders to stay informed on system developments and best practices. Our trainers offer expert support for all aspects of clinical system functionality, handling calls in line with service level agreements whilst prioritising urgent issues to minimise downtime.
Prospective Record Access
The Clinical Systems Specialist Team successfully facilitated the rollout of prospective record access across GP practices within the North-East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB).
Key tasks included developing targeted training materials for EMIS Web and SystmOne users. These resources provided step-by-step guidance on configuring organisational settings to allow access to lab results, documents, immunisations, problems, and consultations. Clear instructions were also given on enabling prospective access by default for new NHS app users.
The team coordinated and delivered live webinars, combining NHSE guidelines with clinical system instructions. The sessions covered key topics like organisation configuration, hiding data from online access, and using reports to identify eligible patients.
Personalised 1:1 training was offered both remotely and on-site, helping practices review their current setup, ensure compliance, and address any gaps. Ongoing support was provided, including post-training monitoring to ensure compliance levels were met.
Tracking and reporting mechanisms were implemented to ensure clear communication, capture details of support provided, and address issues efficiently.
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