The NHS IT Security Specialists

Hertfordshire Health Informatics Service Implement SAP with Secure-IT Broadband

The Hertfordshire Health Informatics Service (HHIS) has been established since April 2001 and is based at Charter House in Welwyn Garden City. Since its inception it has developed its services year-on-year to meet the new demands of the ever-changing NHS.

A recent challenge encountered by the Service has been to implement an IT solution which will ensure the delivery of the Single Assessment Process which, in turn, will lead to innovative new practice in integrated working practices across health and social care.

The Single Assessment Process (SAP) is a set of principles and procedures to co-ordinate the assessment of the health and social care needs of an individual and to share that information appropriately between health and social care agencies. The principles of the Single Assessment Process, originally developed for older people, are now being applied to other adult groups and to children, and a fundamental principle is that there is one person-centred assessment to which different disciplines can contribute.

The Business Challenge

One example of innovative practice in relation to SAP has been to provide Community Nurses with the tools to work wirelessly in the community whilst providing them with the same access to internal systems that they would have if they were working in the office. Nurses assess the patients' needs and enter this information directly into the SAP application.

The data can then be analysed by the intermediate care team so that the best course of action can be implemented.

NHS Managers and Senior IT staff knew that they must take active steps to prevent serious breaches to security and at the same time minimise connectivity problems for the SAP project.

The Solution

The Service were able to locate existing, tried and tested software which is currently in use in over 200 NHS Trusts, Secure Remote Access with BMS Secure-IT Broadband.

Secure-IT provided the perfect authentication mechanism for the Community Nurses (and other remote workers).

Secure-IT enables all data to be encrypted securely. The Community Nurses (and other remote workers) can also synchronise all desktop applications remotely and it provides all users with a secure method of dialling into the Trust.

Users are able to use their normal desktop apps and synchronise Outlook Email and other applications without having to return to their base, all using high speed remote connection provided by the BMS Secure-IT Broadband or dial-up connections.

The BMS Secure-IT Broadband solution complies with all of the NHS remote access requirements.

• Remote users authenticated by Strong Authentication through hard tokens or biometrics
• Protected by an EAL 4 Standard Firewall
• IPSEC or SSL Encrypted VPN Tunnel
• The Firewall is monitored by an Intrusion Detection System
• Penetration testing by an independent CHECK accredited tester.

The solution, now fully rolled out to 3 PCTs, ensures that the community nurse is provided with a tablet PC which is fitted with a 3G network card which enables wireless access at speeds of up to 384Kb and gives them access to the internet, E-mail and web-based applications.

The Benefits

Speaking about this new and innovative technology Steve Mathews, Technical Deployment Manager commented "We are delighted with the way it is working in practice, and for nurses in particular this is quite a leap forward. As you can imagine some were slightly daunted with the technology at first, but now, having received the relevant training, the Programme is successfully being rolled out and used very effectively on a daily basis".

Steve went on to add "this has provided nurses with the freedom to use the Liquidlogic SAP application in the way in which it was designed".

As the first Connecting for Health project to go live with eSAP in the Eastern Cluster Hertfordshire HIS are so pleased with the solution provided by BMS that they are currently demonstrating this to other agencies.

Steve acknowledged "although access via N3 would have given nurses access to the SAP application, it would not have allowed them tosynchronise data with their Laptops. The BMS VPN Broadband and Secure-IT product was the perfect solution for us. It ensures high speed connectivity, is fully secure, complies with all NHS remote access requirements, and provides us with a scalable, cost effective solution for the effective roll-out of SAP which will ultimately improve patient care".

The solution has been configured to be used by staff based at:

• Welwyn Hatfield PCT
• South East Herts PCT
• North Herts and Stevenage PCT
• Acute Sector at QE2 Hospital Welwyn Garden City
• Lister Hospital Stevenage
• Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust
• Royston, Buntingford & Bishop Stortford PCT

Related Case Studies:

• NHS Education for Scotland rolls out Flexible Working for staff with Secure-IT VPN Broadband from BMS »

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Testimonials

'Our Hospital Trust has been working with BMS for several years now. I have found BMS to be very knowledgeable, helpful, reliable, honest and very competitively priced.'
(David Pickup, IT Projects Officer, East Lancashire NHS Trust)

'BMS are much more than an IT supplier, they are a partner. I trust what they tell me to be factual and not hype – their technical staff are exceptional, they always go much more than the extra mile to resolve our issues.'
(Richard Oliver, IT Security Manager, Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust)

'BMS continue to improve an already excellent service in the support of our objectives with responsive, high quality and very competitive service and products.'
(Neil Darvill, Director of Informatics, St Helens and Knowsley Health Informatics Service)

'BMS have proven to be quick to respond to our needs for both pricing & service which has led to further solution implementation discussions.'
(Glyn Rowe, IT Technical Manager, Swindon & Marlborough NHS Trust)

'“Our Trust engaged BMS to assist with our deployment of McAfee EndPoint Encryption & McAfee Device Control. I found the staff that I dealt with to be professional, knowledgeable, helpful and extremely reliable. I would recommend using BMS and without them I believe that our deployment would not have been so speedy or successful”. '
(Maria Ganderton, ICT Project Manager, Technology Development, South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust)

'BMS excelled in their technical support of our solution, including the installation and configuration. The ongoing technical advice received has been exceptional, full marks to BMS.'
(Dr Dennis Connolly, IM&T Manager at NHS Education for Scotland)

'BMS have always been very supportive across all aspects of our project requirements offering high levels of expertise and excellent customer support and service. We regard them as our trusted advisors.'
(Ray Burdge, IT Infrastructure Manager, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Trust)

'BMS have always been very supportive across all aspects of any given project offering value for money and a high level of customer support and service. High levels of communication keep us on track and help us to meet our milestones.'
(Andy Moore, IT Services Manager, Harrogate & District NHS Foundation Trust)

'We chose BMS because they fully understand our specific requirements. We are confident in their knowledge and skills and have always found them to be prompt in their responses.'
(Lisa McCartney, Acting Assistant Server Manager, North Mersey Health Informatics Service)

'We chose BMS because of their proven knowledge and expertise within the NHS IT field. BMS have excelled in providing us with a range of solutions which have more than met our needs and expectations. The Technical Consultancy and Professional hands-on services have been exceptional.'
(Kim Pannell, IT Manager, Eastern Cheshire PCT)