Background

Sarand has worked on a number of projects in and around the NHS and are pleased to be able to offer a number of tailored services in this area.

We have built a particularly strong relationship with the Addenbrooke's NHS Trust in Cambridge and have built a number of our services based on our experiences at this, one of the country's leading and largest Health Trusts.

Procurement

Sarand's procurement system is a web-fronted application that acts as a managed procurement service. Its key features are:

• Accessible via the Internet and imposes no overheads on the Trusts’ internal IT resources.
• Acts as an electronic marketplace that mimics the Trust’s procedures for Non-Stock requisitions, both contracted and ad-hoc purchases.
• Tailored to individual Trust requirements, while allowing groups of Trusts to share supplier catalogues and thus benefit from contracts negotiated across the group.
• Encourages participation of suppliers that are familiar to the Trust rather than introducing third parties simply by their subscription to the service.
• Suppliers have responsibility for maintaining their own product catalogues and prices while the Trust retains responsibility for authorisation of changes.
• Requisitions are built electronically by buyers at departmental level so authorisation and raising of purchase orders is simplified to the verification of content and prices.
• Purchase orders are electronically confirmed and transmitted to buyers, suppliers and financial systems to cut out duplication of data entry, improve the quality of data and encourage a more responsive lead time for orders.

Ward Management

Our theatre admissions and bed allocation software has been introduced at Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust and has proven to be an extremely effective replacement for a variety of system and manual records that were previously used to manage the allocation of patients:

• Patient details entered once and shared between theatre and ward bookings.
• Bookings can be made at any point in the calendar – potentially months in advance.
• Reports are available for distribution throughout the trust as an authorised schedule for the day and coming week.
• Data and software can be shared throughout the trust, with security to restrict who can view and update the information.
• The display is optimised for both PC monitors as well as overhead screens (24”TFT and plasma displays) that can be mounted for maximum visibility, for example in staff rooms.

Internet Content Management

Publication of information within Trusts has evolved to a stage where the use of intranets forms an integral part of the publication process. Sarand have extensive experience that will assist Trusts in controlling the content and standardising the style of their intranet.

In particular, we liase with both owners and consumers of the information to establish effective working practices, implement tools to help manage the content and introduce technologies such as portals that enable the intranet to deliver a much wider range of services, both internal and external to the Trust.

Internet Kiosk and Multiple Desking Solutions

Sarand are working closely with a supplier of kiosk and multi-seat desks that provide an invaluable resource for staff and visitors alike to browse relevant information about the Trust and the local community as well as gain access to the Internet and email where applicable.

We have built a number of components that sit on these solutions and are able to tailor both the style and content of the information that is presented to ensure that each Trust presents its users with a suitable range of material.