Since implementing MyPorter, a digital portering management system, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has witnessed remarkable improvements. This innovative solution has proven the transformative impact on efficiency, resource allocation, patient flow, and confidentiality. MyPorter underscores the critical importance of patient flow in hospital operations, ensuring timely transfers and reducing waiting times, thereby enhancing the overall movement of patients through the hospital. This is essential for swift diagnoses, treatments, and maintaining high standards of patient care and operational efficiency.
Impact on Patient Flow
Efficient patient flow is the lifeblood of any hospital, ensuring patients move through various stages of care promptly and effectively. Patricia Wright, CEO of Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, emphasises the pivotal role of porters in this process: “One of the things that’s really important is flow through the hospital and porters are absolutely critical to flow through the hospital. So what it does in a way, is it speeds up that flow process and makes sure that patients get diagnosed and then treated as quickly as possible.”
By leveraging MyPorter’s auto-allocation feature, the Trust has markedly improved the speed and coordination of patient transfers. The system ensures porters receive timely and accurate tasks, minimising patient waiting times. For example, when a patient needs to be moved to Radiology for imaging, MyPorter dispatches a porter equipped with the necessary tools, such as wheelchair, oxygen tanks, etc immediately. This precise coordination significantly reduces delays, allowing patients to receive diagnoses and subsequent treatments without unnecessary waits.
Key Benefits of a Digital Portering Solution
MyPorter has revolutionised the hospital’s workflow, enabling porters to complete their tasks more efficiently. Sue Bolt, Head of Portering, notes, “We can get two extra jobs per porter per day because of not coming backwards and forwards. We’re getting 32 extra jobs done a day.”
This boost in efficiency directly benefits patient care and hospital operations. Nasimul Hasan, a Radiographer in the X-ray department, champions the widespread adoption of this system: “MyPorter should be introduced across all the NHS. This is a very smart way and very effective and efficient way to improve the workflow in any department.”
MyPorter’s enhanced data visualisation capabilities allow hospital administrators to identify bottlenecks and allocate resources more effectively. For instance, during peak times in the Emergency Department, additional porters can be deployed to handle the increased patient load, ensuring smooth hospital operations. This proactive resource management reduces overcrowding in waiting areas and ensures critical areas like the ED function efficiently.
Steve Wedgwood, Director of Operational Estates & Facilities, highlights these advantages: “What MyPorter gives us is that evidence, better productivity, better visibility but then on the other side, less errors, less potential to make mistakes.”
The implementation of MyPorter at Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust showcases how cutting-edge digital solutions can enhance hospital operations, improve patient care, and optimise resource utilisation. The success seen here could serve as a blueprint for other NHS Trusts aiming to upgrade their portering systems.
To maximise your Portering Services’ impact on Patient Flow, or to reach out to Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for a chat, visit www.myporterlogistics.com or email myporter@globalviewsystems.co.uk
