A net:gain delegate takes a strategic overview
Dorothy House Hospice is a 31 year old independent hospice providing care and support for patients, carers and families to help patients have best quality at the end of life. It educates health professionals in ‘end of life’ care and operates 18 retail shops to raise funds.
When Peter Lennard took up the role of Head of Finance and Facilities he quickly identified the need to develop an IT strategy with a clear link to the business plan. He realised that the organisation was involved in many different projects and needed a more strategic overview.
During the net:gain programme, Peter benefited from the structured process for developing an IT strategy which would link their requirements to the priorities of the organisation.
Peter said “One of the early “mission to goals” learning points was the realisation that right through the hospice, we needed to know where people were. A shared diary was an obvious solution, but getting clinical staff to understand this was hard. Going through the process helped them realise the benefits of
implementing shared diaries. We now have a strategy linked to the needs of our patients and funders.”
Better access to information and a better booking system have resulted in
improved and more effective services for patients for the same cost.
Resulting initiatives include:
• Using on-line diaries and remote access for field workers
• Review of strategy for archiving patient records
• Providing computers with specialised keyboards for disabled people in the day care centre – with support
from AbilityNet
• Using the strategy to apply for Department of Health funding to provide computers in the in-patient unit so
patients can e-mail
• In the medium term to improve communications between their 18 retail shops via an intranet.
Peter’s top tips for success:
• Allocate plenty of time for the programme
• Set deadlines for each stage
• Get as much support as you can
• Efficiency will only be achieved with full commitment
net:gain centre - Future Learning, Bristol
