Smart new tools that can cure outdated practices
It goes without saying that the emergency services carry out vital work.
As such, you’d expect them to have access to the latest tools.
But that isn’t always true.
The scale of the emergency services, red tape that needs to be followed, and budget restrictions all slow the uptake of new solutions.
While the red tape can be the most frustrating of these, a level of caution is clearly required.
IT outages can have far more severe effects when they affect life-saving care than simply shutting down a retail business’s website.
Nevertheless, emergency services should be looking to identify areas in which they can make improvements, and find the right solutions to modernise their processes.
This isn’t simply a matter of efficiency either. A McKinsey report identified that a switch to digital tools could reduce fatalities by 8-10%.
So what can urgent care providers do to transform their ways of working?
Continue to cut paperwork
The UK National Health Service set itself an ambitious target of going paperless by 2020. While that date has been and gone, it continues to work towards that goal, with the latest target being March 2025.
Clearly, the digitisation process was a bigger task than expected. But striving to reduce paper-based records and files will still deliver greater efficiency and accuracy while giving healthcare providers quicker access to vital patient information.
There are a multitude of different ways that healthcare and service providers can reduce their reliance on paper. For instance, switching to a digital employee scheduling solution like Findmyshift can eliminate the need for paper rotas, while making it easier for staff to stay updated as well.
While paperwork is often the obvious ‘culprit’ when tackling outdated processes and inefficiencies, many manual tasks within your organisation can be made more efficient with digital tools.
From climate control to security systems, there are likely multiple avenues to explore that could modernise your operations.
Connect to the right experts
With emergency medical services under particular strain, some areas are using police and fire resources to lessen the pressure. Intelligent call routing can help to categorise and redirect calls in a way that helps these other services chip in without depriving patients of expert attention.
Such solutions could be key for non-urgent medical lines, like NHS 111, which directs patients to the right place to get help for non-life-threatening medical issues.
This can be great for low-stakes incidents but doesn’t eliminate the need for specialised medical expertise during more complex cases. In these situations, providing remote access to specialists and not only improve the quality of on-scene care, but also help smooth transitions during handovers.
Implement IoT innovations
A recent industry piece on innovation highlighted several examples of positive digital investment. Among them was an ambulance service that rolled out ‘smart stations’ that made use of similar internet of things (IoT) innovations to smart buildings and cities.
For instance, a digital board within the station showed the real-time status of the ambulance parking spots outside, delivering this information faster and informing traffic lights positioned above the bays.
These digital boards also contained bulletins, critical service information, and search functions to allow staff to find relevant data faster.
IoT capabilities extend far beyond car park monitoring as well. They can enhance security through surveillance, bodycams, and licence plate monitoring.
Meanwhile, GPS and drones help to pinpoint locations or provide alternative access routes. And well-placed sensors could even detect and warn off natural disasters early, minimising damage and ensuring that emergency services are ready to respond before they even get the first call.
Look after your responders
Mental health problems are unsurprisingly prevalent among emergency service staff, with more than 9 out of 10 reporting issues during work. And as we’ve already covered, wait times and availability within healthcare are already struggling.
So how can these critical staff be taken care of? A wave of new digital mental health services, from online counselling to self-help apps, could be the answer. While these new solutions can’t always replace in-person therapists, they can offer some support to many individuals.
Consider the strain that your staff are under and you may want to put in place measures for mental health check-ins as soon as you can.
These and other digital innovations can help transform your emergency service organisation.