Tech jobs boost as work begins on critical care system for NHS Wales

Twenty-five new specialist IT jobs are being created as work begins on rolling out a national Critical Care Information System across NHS hospitals in Wales.

The jobs, 12 with Ascom and 13 with Digital Health & Care Wales (DHCW) are for a joint project team to fulfil the biggest-ever single contract worldwide for Ascom, which operates in 15 countries.

Ascom’s Digistat clinical information system (CIS) will enable intensive care staff across Wales’ 14 standard adult critical care units to manage electronically many aspects of care. Previously, just three of Wales’ units used electronic systems from other suppliers, while the remainder used paper records. The new system will transform care digitally and give staff a single source of truth for patient information.

Among the new appointments to the project team are Nicola Duglan-John, a clinical consultant for Ascom based in Swansea, and Stephanie Mahoney, lead specialist for data standards at DHCW who lives in Briton Ferry.

Nicola, a nurse specialising in critical care, was born in England. Her parents moved back home to Wales when she was young.  Her first nursing job was in the intensive therapy unit (ITU) at Swansea University Health Board, before she moved to agency nursing in Cardiff and Caernarvon.

She said: “I can’t wait to go back into the hospitals and help nurses learn how to use the Digistat system. As a nurse, you do your clinical work, then you are often staying behind for an hour to finish paperwork. It will be fantastic for ITU nurses to be able to document their work in real time on Digistat. Part of my job will be to understand how they work day-to-day, then relay that back to the Ascom team who are developing the system to meet their needs.”

Stephanie, who was born and brought up in Neath Port Talbot has a background in clinical coding, with 12 years’ experience under her belt. She is currently studying for a Masters degree in health informatics at Swansea University. In her new position, she will be responsible for writing data standards to ensure the right information is recorded in the right place at the right time in the Digistat system.

She said “I’m looking forward to making data visible to help improve patient care. By collecting all this information electronically, we will be able to help improve healthcare planning, as well as looking at trends in patient outcomes to develop different treatments in intensive care.

“I am really impressed by the fact that Digistat can pull information together without duplication from a number of sources, including medical devices. It will save staff so much time as well as making patient care safer.”

Michelle Cook, project manager at DHCW said: “We are pleased to be working collaboratively with Ascom, and welcome the creation of new and specialised jobs in Wales that will have a positive impact on development of the new critical care system.”                                                                       

Ascom UK managing director Paul Lawrence said: “We are very proud to have created so many highly specialised posts with Ascom, and our team is looking forward to partnering with DHCW to create the very best system possible for Wales’ critical care staff.”

The Ascom contract is for seven years with the option to extend for a further three years and includes the end-to-end implementation of Digistat through a managed service contract. The technology will begin rolling out at The Grange University Hospital later this year, followed by a phased rollout to other units until 2023. Around 10,000 people were admitted to Wales’ 198 intensive care beds in 2019.

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For Ascom media inquiries contact Ruth Devlin ruth@weareic.com 07896 125764

For DHCW media inquiries contact Gill Friend Gill.Friend@wales.nhs.uk or Harriet Kings harriet.kings@wales.nhs.uk

Editors’ notes

• Ascom is a global solutions provider focussed on healthcare ICT and mobile workflow solutions. Ascom’s healthcare solutions include Nurse Call, alarm management, silent wards and mobile solutions.
• The vision of Ascom is to close digital information gaps allowing for the best possible decisions – anytime and anywhere. Ascom’s mission is to provide mission-critical, real-time solutions for highly mobile, ad hoc, and time-sensitive environments. Ascom uses its unique product and solutions portfolio and software architecture capabilities to devise integration and mobilisation solutions that provide truly smooth, complete, and efficient workflows for healthcare as well as for industry and retail sectors.
• Ascom is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland and has subsidiaries in 15 countries and employs around 1,300 people worldwide. Ascom registered shares (ASCN) are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich.
• Established in the UK for more than 60 years, Ascom’s expertise spans hardware manufacture (hand-held devices), software development and systems integration. Ascom UK has two key divisions: Healthcare, where it works with NHS trusts and private healthcare organisations, and: Enterprise – covering retail, manufacturing, and hospitality. Ascom UK enterprise solutions speed up the flow of vital information between management systems and workers carrying out tasks – helping them to deliver efficiency improvements and cost savings.
• In healthcare, Ascom solutions speed up the flow of vital information between clinicians – helping them to give better care and save lives in time-critical situations such as sepsis diagnosis.
• Ascom’s management information technology is utilised by some of the UK’s leading supermarkets, FTSE 100 manufacturers and more than 1,000 exclusive hotels.

For more information on Digistat and other Ascom systems visit www.ascom.com/uk.