Advanced Business Solutions signs agreement with Kronos to enable NHS to meet safe staffing targets
Kronos OptiLink solution will be used for staff management, scheduling, and reporting
Advanced Business Solutions has signed an agreement with Kronos which will provide the Kronos OptiLink solution for staff management, scheduling, and reporting to NHS trusts in the UK.
Advanced is the first company to resell the Kronos OptiLink solution in the UK.
NHS trusts are under pressure to ensure safe staffing levels and the Kronos OptiLink solution is by far the best on the market to help them achieve this goal
The relationship brings together two companies with substantial experience in providing IT solutions to organisations in the healthcare sector.
Kronos healthcare solutions are used by more than 3,000 organisations globally, and Advanced provides software and support to more than 140 NHS trusts in the UK.
The Kronos solution will enable NHS trusts to address government requirements for managing and demonstrating safe staffing levels and nursing to patient ratios. In July 2014, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) was tasked with overseeing improvements following the publication of the Francis Inquiry and Berwick Report, which outlined ways in which the NHS can improve care.
Kronos enables nursing executives and their staff to manage workload, schedules, and productivity using actual patient demand rather than static rosters created in advance. Using real-time data on admissions, discharges, and transfers, the OptiLink solution delivers a clear picture of patient population and staffing from the ward level through the entire system, enabling hospitals to staff effectively based on the intensity of patient care needed.
Dean Dickinson, managing director of Advanced Business Solution, said: “NHS trusts are under pressure to ensure safe staffing levels and the Kronos OptiLink solution is by far the best solution on the market to help them achieve this goal. We look forward to working with Kronos and combining its expertise with ours to support our NHS clients.”
The Kronos OptiLink solution allows trusts to define workloads and scheduling based on patient demand. Using real-time data on admissions, discharges, and transfers, Kronos OptiLink gives a clear picture of patient population and staffing from the unit level through the entire system to improve staffing and budget management. Using this technology, NHS trusts can better control costs associated with recruitment and covering absences with short-term agency staff in addition to avoiding costly medical claims.
We are very confident that by extending our reach with Advanced we can help even more NHS trusts meet their safe staffing targets in the UK
The Kronos OptiLink solution will also enable organisations to provide mandatory staff ratio reports to the Department of Health. The consolidation of data within a single system will eliminate the need for information to be collated from different sources across multiple departments and improve accuracy as a result. Kronos OptiLink will integrate with many existing HR and Electronic Patient Record systems used by NHS trusts, enabling information to be collated and shared easily.
Tristan Spencer, sales director for the UK at Kronos, said: “Kronos OptiLink is a well-established solution that will help NHS trusts to transform care delivery. The solution will help managers ensure that they have the right staff taking care of patients at all times and provide evidence of safe staffing to NICE and the Department of Health.
“The solution has already helped many healthcare organisations in the US improve patient care, control labour costs, minimise compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. We are very confident that by extending our reach with Advanced we can help even more NHS trusts meet their safe staffing targets in the UK."