Digital ECG

In early Autumn 2018 Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT) was successful in a bid made to NHS Improvement (NHSI) for funds to implement Electrocardiogram (ECG) Digital; this was on the provision that it was implemented prior to Christmas, giving the Trust only 3 months to carry out a significant project.

The end to end process involves two systems; the integrated Welch Allyn ECG devices and Cerner Electronic Patient Record (EPR). The workflow allows staff to order, transmit and view an electronic ECG within EPR. The project involved collaborative working between colleagues within CHFT, EPR Business as Usual, The Health Informatics Service (THIS) Training and Technical teams as well as the suppliers of both systems.

A large part of the project involved the development of new processes in all areas to support a new digitally enhanced way of working, this involved working closely with front line staffin Cardiology, Emergency Department, Inpatients and Outpatients.

As part of the project, the Trust installed 30 new ECG machines that linked to the EPR. There was a significant training requirement to ensure that all staff who perform ECGs were appropriately trained in the use of the new device.

On average 1600 ECGs are carried out in the Trust each week, some of the major benefits include:

• Reducing the need to input demographic detailson to the ECG cart, these automatically populate from EPR thereby reducing transcription errors and time taken to initiate the test.
• Improving security and effectiveness of uploadingdata to patient records.
• Improving efficiency in the requesting process.
• Ability to compare multiple ECGs on the same screen.
• Reducing the costs associated with printing, scanning and uploading of ECGs.
• ECGs are continually available and accessible for all departments.
• Reducing the instances of misplaced ECGs.

NHS Improvement visited the Trust on Wednesday 9th January to see ECG Management in action.They were extremely impressed by the swift implementation and successful adoption in ashort period of time.

Published by Steve Coady on 03.04.2019.

This story first appeared in our 21st Issue of THIS is the news newsletter.